Under the Cherry Blossom Tree
by Light's Blue Blossom
Summary: EPILOGUE! He promised never to let anyone in his life again, but strangely enough, a girl he's never met, bombards into his life & declares him her friend. When love blossoms, a promise is made: to meet under the cherry tree. SS ET
1. The Beginning of a New Life

**Disclaimer: **I don't own CCS. I'm not that creative to come up with something like that. This'll be my disclaimer throughout the story.

**Author's Note: **First CCS fic so I'm hoping it'll be good compare to my first fic which now that I think about it, and am embarrass to have ever posted it up.

**XXXXX**

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter I

--The Beginning of a New Life—

"Syaoran, RUN!" his mom screamed.

Six-year-old Syaoran didn't move. He didn't want to leave his mom like this. A black masked man was killing her. He had already seen his father get killed and now his mom.

"MAMA!" Syaoran screamed as tears began to run down his face.

"Now you're next, little kid," said the murder. "You're going to pay along with your family for what you did to mine," he hissed.

Syaoran didn't understand what he meant by that comment and was afraid to move. He curled into a ball, hugged his knees, and whimpered.

The masked figure slowly walked toward him with a bloody knife in his hand.

Syaoran closed his eyes waiting for the instant pain. He felt something sharp entered his arm slowly feeling blood flowing from his arm to the floor. He wasn't going to scream. His father raised him to be strong. Suddenly, the pain stopped, and he blacked out.

"Hey, wake up," someone said, shaking him making him open his eyes. "You alright?"

Syaoran opened his eyes meeting a paramedic. "W…what happened? MAMA!" he suddenly exclaimed.

"Calm down, son. You're a brave boy. That bad man killed your parents, but we couldn't save them. Luckily for you, he managed to give you a cut when the police arrived," he told him, pointing to his arm.

His arm was banded in a white cloth. He felt a little sting, but it didn't hurt as much as it did when the knife touched his skin.

"What'll happen to me?" he asked.

"I don't know. I heard that you don't have any relatives," the paramedic said. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" he asked.

"Not that I know of," Syaoran replied.

"Well then, I think you'll be put in an orphanage," the paramedic told him.

"But…my home!" he said.

"Don't worry. I'm sure a nice family will move in," he said. "Now, why don't we go pack some of your things, and someone will take you to the orphanage."

Syaoran was hesitant to do so, but he did any way.

This would be the last time he'll see this house. He had so many memories here like the time when his father first taught him martial arts and how to wielding a sword.

He looked at the place where his parents got murdered. He shed one last tear and promised himself he will never allow himself to show weakness any more to anyone. He wasn't going to be in pain when the people he cared about died because he wasn't going to allow anyone to be in a relationship with him.

"Are you ready to go?" a different voice asked him.

Syaoran turned to him and nodded.

The man drove him to the nearest orphanage.

"This will be your new home until someone adopts you, OK?" he asked.

Syaoran nodded.

"I don't know if you know or understand this, but your family was rich, and they left everything to you once you're eighteen. That means that when you're eighteen, you'll inherit everything, got it?" the man explained.

Syaoran nodded again. "Let me go talk to the owner of the orphanage and tell her you're here."

The man opened Syaoran's door and he hopped out. He followed the man to the entrance of the orphanage and the man held it opened.

Syaoran took a breath and entered.

'This was the beginning of a new life; no families, no friends or anyone,' he thought.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **Well…what did you think? I'm probably not going to update ASAP yet, but I'm trying to finish my Fruits Basket story, but I'll update now and then.

Don't forget to R&R!


	2. Christmas Warmth

**Author's Note: **Sorry that the last chapter was super short, but the longer chapters are starting now. And I don't know how orphanages work, so please bear with me as I make some of the stuff up. LOL Don't expect quick updates like this one. I just felt bad giving you a short one so I had to make it up.

**Reviews:**

**Pinaygrrl: **Of course I'm gonna continue it! I can't stop writing a story once I've stopped.

**Dbzgtfan2004: **Well, the beginning is sad, but it's the prologue. The rest won't be…hopefully… Thanks for the review!

**Li'ain: **Yeah, but the rest of the chapters will be long. Oh, and that's a first for me to have a good summary. I suck at summaries. Thanks!

**Viky: **Glad you like it!

**Tomiki: **Thanks for the review! Hope this was a quick update for you, but I can't make promises when school starts.

RRE! (Read, Review, and ENJOY!)

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter II

--Christmas Warmth—

It was a cold winter day, the day before Christmas. The old orphanage was bustling trying to clean it before an important guest was going to arrive.

Seven-year-old Syaoran looked around wondering why he had to clean. This was his first month at the orphanage and without any family to spend Christmas with for the first time.

"Hey, don't stand there and daydream. We have to make it spotless when Mr. Kinomoto comes," an older kid yelled.

"Ryu, it's his first time at the orphanage so back off," yelled his new friend, Eriol. Eriol (who is seven also) was different from other kids. On his first day at the orphanage, Mrs. Ewina, the owner of the orphanage told Eriol to show him around. The navy hair boy showed him everything and the next day, wouldn't leave him alone.

Syaoran was annoyed with Eriol following him around and asking him questions day after day. He gave him his scariest glare the second day and that didn't work on him, but it did on the other children. From then on, he considered the crazy navy eye boy his only friend. Syaoran was the only one that could deal with Eriol and vice versa.

"Mr. Kinomoto owns most of the town and is really rich. He's super nice. Every year around this time, he comes to visits us and donates money and gives us gifts. There's a rumor that he's going to bring his daughter today so she can play with us. The owner said she was pretty," Eriol explained to him.

Syaoran nodded his head knowing why everyone was cleaning now.

"Good. Now go clean."

Syaoran walked to his room and started making sure everything was perfect on his side of the room. The older kids got to clean the kitchen, living room, etc. The younger kids had to clean the rooms only.

Pretty soon, a honk was heard, and every kid rushed out to greet Mr. Kinomoto.

The kids lined up in straight lines and Syaoran was in the front next to Eriol.

"Hello Mr. Kinomoto," they said in unison once he stepped out of the limousine.

"Hello kids. I have a surprise this year," he started. "I brought two very special people here to visit you."

The kids got excited and started to whisper among each other.

"Lemme guess, Santa Claus and your daughter," Syaoran muttered in a boring tone so only Eriol could hear.

"First I would like you to meet my daughter, Sakura," he said, stepping aside so the kids could see her.

Sakura was nice, cheerful five-year-old. Her light auburn hair was in mini pigtails, and she had two long bangs in the front. She opened her eyes revealing big emerald eyes that seemed to glitter.

The older girls were screaming about how kawaii (cute) she was while most of the younger boys blushed at the sight of her.

"I want you to be nice to her, OK? Her mother just passed away," he told them, as he face seemed to turn sad. "Now, for our other surprise, it's Santa Claus!" Mr. Kinomoto said, revealing a plump man in a red suit with a white beard.

"HOHOHO! Merry Christmas!" he said. "Now since Christmas is tomorrow. I have a special gift for each and every one of you," he crouched down to their height.

The kids screamed and shouted happily running to the plump man in the red suit.

Syaoran didn't flinch. He stayed there. Eriol decided to grab a present and left his side.

Sakura stayed by her father's side not sure what to do. He promised her that she was going to have fun, but this was boring. All of the kids were waiting for presents. She couldn't blame them after. Sakura waited patiently on the side as she watched each kid receiving a present, opening it, and showing it to his or her friends.

"HOHOHO! Looks like someone hasn't receive their present," Santa Claus said once every kid got a present except for one. The man in the red suit held a box in the air.

Everyone looked around and all eyes lay on a particular brown hair boy. The kids cleared the way making a path from him to Santa Claus. This attracted Sakura's attention.

'Why isn't he getting his present?' she thought, moving closer so she could get a better look at the amber-eyed boy.

Santa Claus walked up to him and crouched down to his size. "So little boy, here's your present," he said, handing him the wrapped box.

"I don't want it," he said in hush tones.

"Hmmm?" the man asked couldn't believe what he just heard.

"I don't want the present. I don't need some pity gift," Syaoran grunted, running to the backyard of the orphanage.

Silence took in for a few minutes as the children started talking about him.

The adults were stun of the event.

"Uhh…Mr. Kinomoto, what should I do?" the man in the red suit whispered.

"I guess we can give it to Sakura," Mr. Kinomoto replied, taking the gift and handing it to his daughter. "Well, I guess this is for you, honey."

Sakura took the box, looked at it, and ran away.

"Sakura, where are you going?" her father yelled.

"I'll be back, Daddy!" she yelled, running the path that she saw the mysterious amber-eyed boy went.

Once the auburn hair girl reached the backyard, she looked around. It was spacious and the trees and garden were bare. It looked so dead. Under a tree was the boy sitting on a bench with navy hair boy.

"You know, Syaoran, it wasn't very nice of you to run off like that. Mr. Kinomoto is really nice. He's not like some jerk who does it for publicity or because he has too. He wants too and he's really nice. Just give him a chance," the glasses wearing boy said, trying to ease him.

"Yeah, well, maybe I don't want…" the brown hair boy started, but was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.

"I don't know why you don't like my dad. I mean, he's never done anything to you. I'm sure if you'd get to know him, you'll see that he's super nice and really polite," the auburn hair girl defended her father.

"Do you think I'm going to listen to some little girl?" he glared.

"I'm not little. I'm around your age! I'm five," she said proudly, holding up her five tiny fingers and accidentally dropping the wrapped box.

"I was five two year ago," Syaoran spat.

Sakura's response was sticking her tongue out.

"You're such a baby!" the brown hair boy chanted. "You're a baby…You're a baby…"

"I AM NOT A BABY!" she shouted, running after him, but her short legs were nothing compared to Syaoran's.

Eriol sat where Syaoran was and smiled. Things were looking pretty interesting. It was nice to see that he wasn't the only one who could stand Syaoran's glare. Hmmm… if things work out for Sakura like it did him, they were going to be friends…maybe even more, but that was asking too much.

"What are you smirking about, Hiiragizawa," Syaoran snapped, calling him by his last name for the first time as he stopped running. That gave Sakura a perfect opportunity. She jumped and tackled him. They were both on the ground, Syaoran under Sakura.

"I am not a baby," she said proudly, trying to wrap her tiny hands around Syaoran's neck.

"Yes you are. Now get off of me," Syaoran demanded, glaring at her once more.

"No."

"Get off!"

"No."

"Get off! You're heavy!"

Sakura gasped. "I am not heavy and no."

This was getting no where. Then, a brilliant idea struck him. "If you don't get off, feel the wrath of the tickle monster."

He started tickling her the best he could in his position. Sakura started laughing and fell backwards hitting her head on the ground.

Even though Sakura got off, Syaoran continued to tickle her.

"HAHA…st…stop…HAHAH! Pl…ple…please…HAHA!"

"Then get off."

Sakura admitted defeat as she stood up and held out a hand.

Syaoran ignored the offer and got up by himself. "I don't need your help."

"Syaoran, you were having fun. Why did you stop?" Eriol asked innocently, trying hard not to laugh.

The young brown hair boy knew what he meant. "Hiiragizawa!" Syaoran started chasing him.

Now it was Sakura's turn to plop watch. She was amused at how Eriol could get Syaoran mad so easily, but after a few minutes, she got bored.

Sakura grabbed the box, and Eriol got an idea. He ran toward Sakura and then made a quick turn, whispering something to Sakura. Syaoran didn't know that he would do that and when Eriol moved, Sakura smacked him with the box.

"Ow! Why did you that for?" Syaoran said coldly.

"Hiiragizawa told me to," she said innocently. "He said that it wouldn't hurt you because you had a hardhead. Besides, I wanted to give you your present."

The box had a dent now, but Sakura didn't care. She stretched out her arms holding the present to give to Syaoran.

"Didn't you hear what I said? I don't want it!" Syaoran snapped.

Sakura was about to argue, but Eriol intervened.

"Kinomoto, we haven't been properly introduce. I'm Hiiragizawa Eriol, and this is Li Syaoran. You can ignore Syaoran. He doesn't like getting presents, but I do. Why don't we open it over here and play with it together?" Eriol proposed.

"Sakura. Call me Sakura," the girl corrected, agreeing to the idea.

The two sat down, their backs facing Syaoran's back. Sakura opened the package to find a shiny, red firetruck.

"Hey, I got an action figure. We can use it to be a bad guy or something," Eriol said.

Sakura and Eriol started playing. Eriol made some noises to go with the game trying to convince Syaoran to join.

Sometime later, Syaoran was caving it. He wanted to play, but then he remembered his promise. He remembered how cruel the murderer was to his parents. The killer didn't even sacrifice or prolonged their death. The worst part was that he killed them right in front of him.

Life was cruel, and the strong live. Life was survival of the fittest.

Syaoran gave in after another squeal from Sakura. He faced Sakura and Eriol. They thought he was going to play with them, but Syaoran grabbed the firetruck and ran away to his room.

Technically, the present was his, and he had all the right to take it away from him.

"Hey!" He heard Sakura scream.

Syaoran locked himself in his room playing with the firetruck by himself. Sure it wasn't fun playing alone, but it was better than doing nothing.

Someone knocked on the door. "Go away!" Syaoran said harshly.

"That voice isn't going to scare _me_ away," Eriol said.

"Is that _girl_ with you?"

"No."

Syaoran reluctantly opened the door, impatiently waiting for Eriol to hurry in.

"Hiya!" a familiar, feminine voice exclaimed.

"Wh…What are you doing here?" Syaoran snapped, but then it hit him. "Eriol! You little liar!"

"You asked if she was with me, and she wasn't. She followed me here," Eriol said in a matter-of-fact voice.

The brown hair boy mumbled something under his breath.

"You have a clean room," the auburn girl stated.

"Nice of you to state the obvious," he snapped.

"Why are you so mean to me?" she whimpered.

"Sakura, this is how Syaoran always is. He's even mean to me, and I'm his friend."

Sakura nodded.

"When are you leaving?" he said annoyed.

"I don't know. When my dad leaves I guess." Sakura shrugged.

"Great," he mumbled under his breath so only Eriol could hear.

"Hey! Why don't we play hide and seek?" Sakura suggested.

"Sure. Syaoran, you're it," Eriol tagged.

"What? No way! I didn't even say I wanted to!" he argued, but both Eriol and Sakura were out the door finding a place to hide.

Syaoran reluctantly counted to ten, but decided not to find them. He sat on the floor playing with his firetruck until they got bored and came out.

He had to admit that it was a lot more peaceful without Eriol and Sakura, but it felt lonely.

Then, someone knocked on the door. He had expected it to be Eriol or Sakura, but to his surprise, it was Sakura's father.

"Hello, you must be Syaoran," her father greeted him with a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Kinomoto," he said coldly. "How can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you know where my daughter went. Some kids said that they saw her come in here," he explained.

"I don't know," he replied stiffly. "We were playing hide and seek, and Eriol and Sakura went to hide."

"I see…then why are you still here? Aren't you suppose to be looking for them?" the auburn hair man asked.

Syaoran flushed. "Well…I was suppose to, but I didn't want to play. Don't worry, they'll give up sooner or later," he defended.

"I did, but we don't know where Sakura is." Eriol popped out of know where, scaring Syaoran.

"Hah, I thought she was going to give in sooner than you, Eriol," he stated.

"I know you, Syaoran. I know you weren't going to find us, but I think Sakura believed you were. Everyone's looking for her right now, but no one has seen her," Eriol told him.

"Do you think you can help me find Sakura?" Mr. Kinomoto sincerely asked.

Syaoran looked uneasy, and grumbled, "Fine."

All the kids were looking inside the house so he went outside to look.

He didn't care about her so why did he have to search for her?

Syaoran closed his eyes and leaned against a bare tree. Then, something rustled in the far side. He immediately opened his eyes and quickly glanced around the backyard.

The rustling continued, and it got louder as he got closer. It had to be Sakura, but when he peeked behind a bush, it was just a rabbit.

The rabbit hopped away and went through a hole in the fence. The hole was a bit larger than you would think. It was big enough for someone his size to fit through.

The brown hair boy sighed. "Great, just great," he murmured.

He crawled through the hole. Behind the backyard was an area filled with bare trees and bushes. White snow covered the ground, and tiny footprint tracks could be seen. He followed the tracks hoping to find her.

He found her under a tree, hugging herself to keep her warm.

"Hey, everyone in the orphanage is looking for you," Syaoran snapped, getting the shivering girl's attention.

"You found me! I didn't think you would," she smiled.

"I wouldn't, but your tracks led me to you. We better get back before you dad sends the police in or something," he spat coldly. "I wasted my time looking for you."

Sakura ignored his cold tone and stood up. "You know what kind of tree this is?" she asked, placing a hand on the side.

"No and I don't care," he hissed.

"It's a cherry tree. I love cherry trees because of the cherry blossoms. Maybe it's because my name means cherry blossom, but they're so pretty in the spring." Sakura took a moment to picture the forest like area with Sakura trees.

"Whatever. Let's go back," he mumbled.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **I know that they probably don't speak very well since they're little, but I'm too lazy to actually make it sound like that. I didn't use big words though.

Oh, and let's say that Syaoran's birthday came up after he was dropped at the orphanage and before Christmas so now he's seven, not six.

REVIEW S'IL VOUS PLAIT!


	3. New Year's

**Author's Note: **I forgot to mention that the rating might go up to T later.

**Reviews:**

**Pinaygrrl: **Yup, Syaoran's gonna be mean for awhile.

**tomiki: **Hehe…seeing chibi Sakura and Syaoran playing together is always kawaii! Thanks for the review!

**Nanie-san: **Thanks for reviewing twice! I had to write something with Syaoran being cold 'cux I can't imagine Sakura being mean.

**ff-girl07: **Thanks for the review! Here's chapter 3.

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter III

--New Year's—

"After Christmas time, I thought I wouldn't have to deal with that girl anymore until next year, but noooo…she still comes to bug me!" Syaoran complained to Eriol. Sakura had visited them once every week after Christmas was over.

"Maybe it's because she considers us friends…" Eriol commented slyly.

"What! Why would I want to be friends with her? Who said I wanted to be her friend?" he shouted.

"She did," the navy hair boy replied simply. "You know, Mr. Kinomoto said that his wife just died so it probably has affected Sakura a lot just like when your parents died. You shouldn't be so mean to her," he added.

"Yeah, well I bet she never saw her mom die right in front of her," he argued back, remembering that day that he longed to forget.

"You two can relate," Eriol stated.

"I don't care! She's so annoying!" Syaoran said for the millionth time that day.

"BOO!" someone shouted, popping out of nowhere.

"AH!" Syaoran screamed, but then realized it was only a person. When he saw who it was, he glared at her. "It's only _you_," he said harshly, his hand placed over his heart. "Don't ever do that again!"

"Sorry," Sakura apologized with a very sincere face.

Syaoran gave her a grunt, which Sakura was use to now.

"So Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?" Eriol politely asked.

"My brother wanted to meet you. He kept on asking me why I kept on coming over here," Sakura explained.

"And why do you?" Syaoran asked sharply.

"Because you two are my friends. I don't really have friends other than you two," Sakura whispered, looking at her feet.

"Well, you're our friend too, right Syaoran?" Eriol asked, giving Syaoran a nudge.

Syaoran didn't say anything.

Sakura gave a loud 'yay' and grabbed Syaoran's and Eriol's hand to lead them to somewhere, but Syaoran jerked his hand away from her hold.

"Listen, _girl_, who said you could touch me? And who said I was ever your friend? I'm not. I don't like you so stop bugging me!" Syaoran growled at her.

Sakura's bright emerald eyes sadden. Big, wet tears formed and started falling from her face. She dropped Eriol's hand and ran downstairs, crying.

"Look what you did," Eriol shook his head, disapproving.

"I don't care. Serves her right," he snarled.

"You're lucky I can take any of your comments or else you'd be all alone," the glasses wearing boy commented.

"I'd rather be alone," he argued.

"Do you really?" Eriol asked, before leaving him alone.

Syaoran tried to ignore the question, but it kept repeating itself over and over in his head.

Just as he thought the day couldn't it get any worse; he felt his legs in the air.

"Is he the gaki that made you cry, Sakura?" he heard an older boy asked. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura appear and nodding slightly.

"Listen gaki. I don't know what you did to my sister, but if you do anything like that again, I'll kill you. No one messes with my sister and gets away with it," the black hair older boy hissed, tightening his grasp on Syaoran's shirt.

Luckily for Syaoran, his father taught him martial arts when he was four years old. Syaoran managed to break free and landed behind him.

Touya wasn't expecting this, but quickly turned around. "Fine gaki. Do you want a fight? I'll give you a fight," his black eyes met Syaoran's eyes.

Both got in their stances and were about to punch each other, but Sakura jumped in the way.

"NOO!" she screamed.

Touya and Syaoran stopped in mid-air and fell on their butts.

"What was that for? You could've gotten hurt!" Touya yelled.

"I could've taken him on! Stupid girl!" Syaoran bellowed.

"Don't call my sister stupid, gaki!" Touya argued.

"STOP!" Sakura's tiny voice echoed the hall. Both boys stopped and looked at her.

"Onii-chan (big brother), you're not supposed to pick fights here. I don't care if he calls me stupid, I'm used to it," Sakura stated.

"Fine, but he still made you cry," Touya said, glaring at Syaoran.

"That was her fault for assuming that we are friends," Syaoran argued.

"You're friends with this gaki?" Touya shouted. "That's it. Letting you come here was one thing, but being friends with the gaki, it's not happening," Touya said, carrying Sakura out the orphanage.

"But Onii-chan!" Syaoran heard Sakura whine.

"Good ridden," Syaoran mumbled. He thought no one held him, but Eriol saw the whole episode.

In a few days, it would be New Year's. The orphanage didn't really make a big deal out of this holiday as they did for Christmas.

The few days past by quickly. Syaoran felt a lot happier knowing that he didn't have to see Sakura again.

'Maybe her brother wasn't so bad after all,' the amber-eyed boy told himself. He was beginning to like the quiet.

"Hey Syaoran, there you are!" Eriol shouted.

"What do you want?" Syaoran barked.

"Nothing. Just wanted to ask you want you want to do for today since it's New Year's. Mrs. Ewina always lets the older children go anywhere in the city and takes the little ones to go see the fireworks near here," Eriol told him early in the morning.

"Well…I'm guessing we're in the little group so we're going to see fireworks?" Syaoran said with annoyance as if a one-year-old couldn't answer.

"So you want to go see fireworks?" Eriol said with a meaningful look.

"We don't have a choice," he said firmly.

"OK then, that's all I needed," Eriol smiled and hurried back downstairs.

"Eriol!" Syaoran called out, trying to get him back here. "What was that look?"

A few hours later, Mrs. Ewina was calling everyone to the living room and told him or her that they were getting ready to leave.

Everyone cheered except for you-know-who.

Everyone hurried outside, and there were two buses and a limousine parked. One was for the younger group and was heading for the nearby park. The other was for the older ones to head to town. The older kids had until ten to return to the bus and head back home.

"Hiiragizawa, Li, come over here!" Mrs. Ewina shouted when the kids were getting toward their respective bus.

Syaoran was confused and gave Eriol a look, but Eriol avoided his eyes.

"Since Sakura-san has volunteered for you two to join her and her brother and friends, you will be going with them," Mrs. Ewina refreshed their memories (more like told Syaoran).

"We'll have them back at nine," Touya told the owner while glaring at Syaoran.

"What? You told me that we were going to be in the kids' group," Syaoran growled.

"Well…you said that. I just asked you if you wanted to see fireworks and you said 'we had no choice' so I took it as a yes," Eriol smirked.

"You and your sleazy, smart aleck…" Syaoran's nails dug into his hand.

"Come on. We can't be rude and make them wait for us any longer." Eriol hopped into the limo, dragging Syaoran with him.

"Hiya, Li-kun, Hiiragizawa-kun!" Sakura yelled.

"Hello Sakura-chan. Thank you for inviting us," Eriol said politely, jabbing Syaoran on the side.

"Huh? What…I mean…yeah, thanks," Syaoran griped, feeling Touya's glare on him. His eyes observed the limousine and found out that they (Sakura, Touya, Eriol, and him) weren't alone.

A raven hair girl about Sakura's age leaned over and whispered something in Sakura's ear.

Sakura eyes widen as she started panicking. "I'm so sorry. I forgot to make introductions. This is Daidouji Tomoyo, my best friend AKA cousin. You've already met my brother, Touya. And that's Touya's friend, Tsukishiro Yukito." Sakura pointed to each one.

"Tomoyo, Yukito, this is Hiiragizawa Eriol and Li Syaoran," Sakura introduced them.

"Hello, Sakura does nothing, but talk about you two," Tomoyo said politely.

"It's a pleasure to meet you two," the silver hair man nodded.

"It's nice to meet you two too," Eriol smiled.

Syaoran didn't say anything, but slump in his seat.

"Syaoran," Eriol hissed, "don't be rude, say something."

"It's nice to meet you too," Syaoran said in a robot voice.

"Sakura, why did we have to invite the gaki? The weird kid is OK, but the gaki?" Touya started a conversation.

"Onii-chan! What did Otou-san (father) tell you?" Sakura glared at her brother.

"All right, but it was just a question," Touya said innocently.

"I have to agree with him," Syaoran spoke up, which surprised everyone. "Why did you invite me after what happened?"

"To apologize for my brother's behavior," Sakura said plainly. "But that doesn't mean I forgive you."

"Wah? Then why did you invite me if you didn't forgive me?" Syaoran asked harshly now confused.

"Because I'll make you be my friend. I'll keep on bugging you until you die!" Sakura threatened.

"What? Sakura, I forbid you to have any contact him," Touya ordered.

"You can't make me!" Sakura argued. Seconds later, there was a sibling rivalry.

"I'm telling Dad!"

"Not unless I get there first and tell me what kind of gaki he is!"

"GRR! We'll see about that!"

"What are you going to do, kaijuu (monster)?" Touya grinned.

"I'm not a monster!" Sakura yelled and somehow was able to step on Touya's foot in the limousine.

"OW! Why you…"

"Does this happen often?" Eriol whispered to Tomoyo.

The amethyst color eye girl nodded. "Every day."

In the middle of their argument, the door suddenly opened.

"Oh…I'm sorry to interrupted," the driver said flustered as he heard the siblings fight.

Sakura and Touya stopped and turned their head at the same time to the driver.

"He…he…" Sakura managed to say.

"What is it?" Touya barked, angry that the driver interrupted them, especially when he was winning.

"We're here."

"Oh, OK. Thanks," Touya gave a small cough, and they got out of the limo.

The gang had arrived at the New Year's Festival. Bright lights were hung around trees and booths. There was a nice banner at the entrance welcoming people. You could smell the aroma of the various foods.

Tomoyo pulled out a camcorder and started taping them. Eriol was happily enjoying his time out, especially watching a raven hair girl. Something about her intrigued him.

Sakura was acting her normal self as Tomoyo taped her. She was used to this now.

Syaoran was practically drooling over the smell of the delicious food and gawking at the booths.

"Let's go to that one first!" Sakura ran off to the booth that she was pointing at.

You had to get make coin land on a lily pad, and by the number of coins in the water, it was hard. The prize of this game was a real live goldfish.

"I want a fishie!" Sakura exclaimed. Everyone else was watching her, and Tomoyo was determined to get it all on tape.

Sakura paid the man, and he gave her three coins. Sakura used all three coins, but couldn't make it land on the lily pad. It hit it once, but it rolled off.

After she used all her coins, she pouted. "Onii-chan, win me a fish, please," Sakura begged.

Touya gave a deep sigh, but did so. He missed all three times. Yukito gave it a shot, but once again, lost.

Sakura was now disappointed. She really wanted a fish, but knew it was impossible for anyone to win at that game.

After a couple of hours, they were getting hungry from all the walking and playing they did.

"Onii-chan, get some food for us!" Sakura commanded.

Touya grumbled. "I'll help him," Yukito said, following his dark hair friend.

"We'll be by the pond, K?" the auburn girl shouted. The four walked to the pond and patiently waited for the food.

"I heard that if you throw a yen in here and wish for something on New Year's, it'll come true," Tomoyo spoke up.

"Really?" Sakura said excitedly. "I wanna try!"

"Why don't we all try?" Eriol suggested.

Syaoran unwillingly took part and took out a yen he had. The four were standing in a line, facing the water.

"Let's do it at the same time," Sakura proposed. "1…2…3…" At the count of three, all four threw their yen and made their wish. Four splashes could be heard in the silent evening.

'I wish that Sakura and Li-kun could be happily together. They would make a kawaii (cute) couple!' Tomoyo thought as a 'hohoho' escaped her mouth.

'I wish to know Daidouji-chan more,' Eriol thought as his face turned red. 'And maybe we'll fall in love with each other?'

'I wish for this stupid girl to stop being annoying,' Syaoran thought, knowing that this wish would probably never come true, and the rumor was just a hoax to loose money.

'I wish that Li-kun and I to be bestest friends,' Sakura thought sincerely, clasping her hands together. 'Oh, but Tomoyo will always be number one. He can be number two.'

Tomoyo was the first to speak as she gave them a wide grin. "We can't tell anyone about what we wished for until it comes true, even if it's in a hundred years, we can't tell."

"Yo squirt, where are you?" They heard Touya shout.

Sakura ran closer to her brother and Yukito and waved at them. "We're over here!"

"What are you doing there?" Touya asked.

"We each made a wish," Sakura told him.

"That's right. I've heard that all wishes you make here come true. If you make it during New Year's of course," Yukito thought aloud as they passed out the food. Touya was a little rough with Syaoran when he handed Syaoran his drink.

"What do you want to do before we go see the fireworks?" Yukito asked them.

Eriol and Syaoran didn't care. They were the guests after all.

"I wanted to look around some more," Sakura told him.

"Oh, but Sakura, I wanted to go listen to the music that are playing," Tomoyo said timidly. "We can still look around if you want though."

"I have an idea," Yukito brought up. "Why don't we split into two groups? Touya can take Sakura and one of you boys can look around some more, and I can take Tomoyo and whoever's left."

"All right." Touya agreed. "So who's with who?"

"I wouldn't mind listening to some music," the navy hair boy quickly spoke up. Eriol volunteered to go with Tomoyo and Yukito, leaving Syaoran with Sakura and her brother.

"What? I'm stuck with the gaki?" Touya yelled.

"Come on, Touya. It's only few an hour or so," Yukito calmed him down. "Relax. We could trade if you want?"

Touya took a few deep breaths until it finally clicked what Yukito just said. "Are you joking? I don't know what the gaki's going to do to my little sister. I'm keeping all eyes on him." Touya scowled, his eyes glaring into Syaoran's.

Yukito chuckled. "Brotherly complex."

"Shut up."

Once everyone finished their dinner, the group split up.

Touya was watching Syaoran like a hawk, making sure he didn't do anything to Sakura. For a split second, Touya had to look at something Sakura pointed out and lost his gaze on Syaoran. When he looked back at the spot where Syaoran was, he was gone.

"Dang it! Where did the twerp go?" Touya shouted as he frantically searched for the boy, dragging Sakura along.

Meanwhile, Syaoran noticed that Touya had finally stopped glaring at him and was looking something that Sakura was pointing at. Amber eyes met something familiar. It was a perfect time to get away and go do it…

"GAKI! Where are you?" Touya kept on yelling, grasping Sakura's tiny hand tightly. People were now staring at the young black hair boy.

"Excuse me, young man, but could you please tone it down? You're disturbing the other people here," a gray hair man asked politely.

"Sorry, sir. I'm looking for someone," Touya explained in a calmer manner.

"Oh, I see. Then, you should go check the lost and found," the old man suggest.

Touya gave him a weird look. He was looking for someone, not something. "Thanks…I'll go there," Touya replied, nodding his head slowly.

Just as Touya turned around so he wouldn't have to face the old man anymore, he found Syaoran standing there with something in his hand.

Touya nearly got a heart attack when he saw Syaoran standing there, looking innocent as if he didn't do anything wrong.

"Li-kun, there you are!" Sakura said with relief.

"Where were you?" Touya snapped.

"I was playing a game," he said innocently, but still had a cold tone.

"You could've told me. I would've been in trouble if I lost you! What was so important that you had to go by yourself?" Touya yelled.

Syaoran showed them a bag with a goldfish swimming in the water.

"Wow! Did you win it yourself?" Sakura said as she gawked at the fish.

Syaoran nodded. "Here." He handed her the bag.

"Hoe? It's for me?" Sakura said as she squealed in delight.

Syaoran nodded again. "It's for taking Eriol and me here NOT because we're friends," Syaoran emphasized. "I don't like being in debt."

"OK," the girl nodded, enjoying her new fish. "Touya, I can keep it, right?"

Touya was a little hesitant from receiving something from the twerp, but he saw Sakura's big emerald eyes begging him to say yes as she gave him her puppy face.

"All right!" Touya gave in. "But don't ever do that again," the older boy growled, ruffling his sister's hair. He had told her that some many times all ready, but she would always use it against him.

With Yukito's group, they were enjoying the music that was being performed. Yukito was sitting on the soft grass, giving Tomoyo and Eriol some space to talk so it wouldn't feel like he was intruding.

"How long have you meet Sakura-chan?" Eriol asked, starting a conversation.

"Ever since we were in diapers," Tomoyo told him. "Don't you think Sakura and Li-kun would make a good couple," the girl smiled.

"Uh…sure…" Eriol said hesitantly. He wanted to know more about her, not about Sakura and Syaoran, but it was better than nothing. "I don't think Syaoran will fall in love with Sakura-chan that easily."

"I know, but just think, ten years later, they could. Sakura is very adorable and can make friends easily, just you wait," Tomoyo commented.

Eriol gave a chuckle.

"So how long have you live at the orphanage?" the raven hair girl asked.

"About four years," Eriol replied, showing no emotion now.

Tomoyo noticed this and didn't push it. "I love this song!"

Eriol gave her a huge grin. "In that case, can I have the honor dancing with you, milady?" Eriol gave her a small bow and offered her a hand.

"Hohoho. Aren't you a gentleman?" Tomoyo remarked, agreeing to a dance.

About an hour later, Touya, Sakura, and Syaoran were at the area where Yukito, Tomoyo, and Eriol were. The fireworks were going to be shown any second now as the area got crowded.

Seconds later, a boom could be heard. It caught everyone's attention as his or her eyes linger to the sky.

Fireworks of various colors brightened up the sky. Some of the fireworks were rigged so that when it would explode, a recognizable figure or shape could be seen.

"It's so pretty," Sakura commented, stretching her arms to the sky.

Tomoyo smiled as she taped everyone (Sakura, Syaoran, Eriol, Yukito and Touya) and occasionally taping the fireworks.

Once the fireworks ended, people started to leave. The booths were closing and packing up to leave.

The gang got into the limo as they drove back to the orphanage first.

"Good-bye Sakura-chan. It was nice to meet you, Daidouji-chan, Tsukishiro-san, and nice to see you again, Kinomoto-san," Eriol uttered before hopping out of the limo.

Syaoran was in an awkward position. He didn't know what to say exactly so he got out of the limousine first. "Um…err…Yeah, nice meeting you two. Thanks for taking me to the festival, but stop bugging me, _girl_. Hope to never see you again," the brown hair boy said harshly and quickly before closing the door and running to the house.

"Why you…!" Syaoran heard Touya roared, but he guessed Yukito was holding him back.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **Another chapter finished! Hehe…Syaoran got Sakura something…Of course Touya hates Syaoran a bit…but things are only going to make Touya angrier.

Hope you like it!

I know that I haven't made a name for myself like other authors, but it would make me very happy if you review! (Getting over 200 hits on this story total is a lot and I would like to know what you think)


	4. A Little Blackmailing

**Author's Note: **A little warning for all my readers. I'm been updating as fast as I can, but school is starting again for me so my updates will be less. Don't worry! I'll finish this story and write every single second I have.

**Reviews: **

**animeflower: **I'm glad you thought the ending was funny. I'm usually not funny. And you'll have to keep reading to find out how they'll act in the future.

**ffgirl-07: **I'm glad you liked the last chapter!

**pure hope: **I'm glad you like it! Syaoran'll lighten up. He always does at the end. Thanks for the review!

**tomiki:** Of course! Doesn't it always?

**Sweet Ying- Fa:** I'm glad you like it. Just be patient for a few more chapters pplz! But because they're going to get older, I'm gonna kinda rush things.

**Viky: **I'm glad you thought it was funny. I'm usually not funny... Thanks!

**SailorCHS:** I'm glad you think it's cute! As for their personality wise, I don't really know if I changed it or not. Thanks for the review!

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter IV

--A Little Blackmailing—

After New Year's, Sakura still came to visit Syaoran and Eriol. Sometimes she would bring Tomoyo along for fun.

The emerald eye girl was still determined to get Syaoran to soften a bit. The goldfish he'd won for her was proof even though he said it was to thank her for taking them to the festival. The brown hair boy still didn't budge a little to play with them when she was there.

Today, she was going to the orphanage and with Tomoyo. "Do you think he'll be my friend if I made him pity me?"

"Li-kun seems too smart to fall for that," Tomoyo answered.

"Hmm…" Sakura rubbed her chin. "I wonder how Hiiragizawa-kun got him to be his friend."

"Why don't we ask him later?" Tomoyo suggest.

"That's a great idea!" Sakura cried out.

When the two finally arrived at the orphanage, Mrs. Ewina was used to this now and immediately told them where Syaoran and Eriol were.

Like numerous times before, Sakura and Tomoyo would always jump out of nowhere and scare Syaoran and Eriol. It was their way of greeting each other, and this time was no different.

"Look, there they are," Tomoyo pointed out as they quickly hid at the corner.

Sakura used to fingers to indicate when to surprise them as she peeked at the corner and gave Tomoyo her signal. 1…2…3…

"Wait, where are they?" Sakura suddenly spoke up. "They're not here."

"But they were here a moment again," Tomoyo said.

"Looking for someone?" a voice said behind them, scaring the two girls because they didn't hear or see them coming.

"AHHH!" Both girls screamed, as they jumped and turned around to only see a smirking Syaoran and a laughing Eriol.

"That was great!" Syaoran said and for the first time Sakura's ever seen him, laughing.

"So what are you two doing here?" Eriol asked, once he had numerously begged Tomoyo to forgive him.

"What do you think, Eriol?" Syaoran abruptly stopped laughing and snapped at the navy hair boy.

"We wanted to invite you to Sakura's birthday party. It's this Saturday, and we'll send you a limo to pick you up," Tomoyo told them.

"Her birthday," Syaoran spat, pointing at Sakura.

"Yup!" Sakura said cheerfully. "I'm going to be six!" Sakura held up six of her tiny fingers.

"I can't wait," Eriol said. "I'll be happy to go."

"You might want to go, but I'm not going." Syaoran folded his arms tightly.

"Come on. It'll be fun!" Eriol urged, shaking Syaoran.

"No."

"Come on!" Sakura, Tomoyo, and Eriol started ganging up on him and decided to chase him.

Too bad for them, Syaoran was too fast for them. All those years had finally paid off even though it wasn't what he expected to use his agility for.

Soon, Syaoran was locked up in his room with the three pounding on his door. Actually, it was just Eriol and Sakura pounding on the door. Tomoyo took out her camcorder from nowhere and started taping the scene.

"Li-kun, if you come out, you don't have to come to my birthday party," Sakura compromised.

"No way! That means that you'll still bug me if I come out," Syaoran barked.

"Syaoran, if you don't come out and agree to come to Sakura's party that she has so nicely invited you to, then I'll have to tell them about your little secret," Eriol said in a taunting voice.

Of course this got Tomoyo's and Sakura's interest.

"What secret?" Sakura and Tomoyo asked. Tomoyo wanted to get this all on tape.

"Well…if Syaoran isn't going to come out, that means he can't stop me so I guess I can tell you. Let's go to my room for some privacy," Eriol said very loudly, hoping that Syaoran could hear him.

They quickly walked away so Syaoran could hear their thumping fade away.

"ERIOL!" he roared through the clenched of his teeth. The amber eyed boy quickly rushed out of his room and headed towards Eriol's room.

"ERIOL!" he shouted once he entered, but instead of finding Eriol, Sakura, and Tomoyo, he found their roommates.

"Er…Eriol isn't here…" one of his roommates stuttered. They were both afraid of him, but who in the orphanage wasn't except of Eriol?

"Do you know where he is?" Syaoran growled under his breath.

"N…no…Sorry…"

"Great," he whispered as he ran out of the room trying to find exactly where Eriol, Tomoyo, and Sakura were.

"And after that…" Eriol abruptly got interrupted.

"HIIRAGIZAWA!" Syaoran gave him a threatening glare.

"Eh…Hello Syaoran," Eriol said calmly, ducking behind Sakura and Tomoyo for protection.

"What did you tell them?" He clenched his teeth and fist.

"Oh that. I didn't tell them about your little secret that you sleep with little blankie. They asked me how I became your friend so I was telling them how before you rudely interrupted," Eriol explained. He didn't notice that he spilled the secret out until Sakura and Tomoyo started laughing.

"You _still_ sleep with a blankie?" Tomoyo asked, trying really hard not to laugh.

Sakura stifled her laugh. "And you're seven?" she added.

Syaoran flushed, but then he started to chase Eriol. "HIIRAGIZAWA, you promised not to tell!"

"It was an accident!" Eriol yelled, now running out the door and shutting it to stall for time.

"Stupid door!"

Sakura giggled, and Tomoyo gave a 'hohoho' as she followed them and taped their little chase.

After a few minutes, Eriol was trying down. There was no way he could ever out run Syaoran.

"Syaoran, you really don't want to kill me, do you?" Eriol said nervously as he slowed down.

"Maybe I do," Syaoran smirked, catching up to him.

"Well, maybe you should be concentrating on the camera girl since she's recording this. I bet this would be a good blackmailing tape," Eriol commented.

Syaoran stopped in his tracks and turned around. Eriol was right. The raven hair girl was recording this.

"DAIDOUJI!"

Tomoyo let out an 'eep' and handed Sakura her camcorder. "Keep it safe," she whispered.

Soon, they were playing keep away, trying to keep the tape away from Syaoran. Tomoyo was a little hesitant to throw her camcorder around so she just took the tape out so it would be easier to throw and catch and less likely to brake.

"This isn't funny!" Syaoran yelled harshly, running toward Sakura, but she threw the tape to Eriol.

"Too you, but for us, it is," Eriol laughed, throwing the tape to Tomoyo.

"Hey Li-kun, I'll give the tape to you if you'll go to Sakura's birthday party," Tomoyo said slyly, deciding not to throw the tape anymore.

"What?" Syaoran exclaimed, running fast to try and grab the tape from Tomoyo's hand, but she saw it coming and threw it back to Eriol.

"That's a good idea. Come on Syaoran, go to Sakura's birthday party or leave yourself available for an easy blackmail," Eriol smirked.

"Aren't you blackmailing me now?"

Eriol thought about this for a moment. "No…I wouldn't call it blackmailing. It's more like a compromise."

"Hohoho," Tomoyo said.

"Please Li-kun?" Sakura spoke up.

Syaoran closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Give me the tape first," he agreed.

"YAY!" the other three shouted with joy.

"Here you go," Tomoyo handed him a tape, giggling.

Syaoran raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"We're supposed to be home by four," Sakura whispered to Tomoyo. They both looked at a digital clock and saw that it was nearly four.

"Uncle is going to be mad!" Tomoyo said worriedly.

"Otou-san won't be mad. Onii-chan will!" Sakura corrected. "We gotta go. See you on Saturday!" Sakura waved as she ran to the limousine.

"Bye! Oh and be ready at one so I can take you two to go present shopping," Tomoyo whispered and quickly followed Sakura.

"What?" Syaoran screamed.

"What did you expect? We, as the guests, must have presents for the birthday girl," Eriol said happily. "I guess we're going to have to combine our money to buy her something since we each don't have much money."

"Why should I waste my last few yens for that girl?" Syaoran sneered. "I got blackmailed into this!"

"You have some things to learn about the real world and manners. I can't believe your family was rich, and yet, somehow they forgot to teach you manners," Eriol remarked.

"I don't have a choice, do I?" Syaoran asked, sighing and ignoring the glasses wearing boy.

"Since you are agreeing, let's go combine our money to see how much we can spend for her." Eriol led the brown hair boy to his room. Then, he went to get his money from his room.

**XXXXX**

The next day, Syaoran didn't want to wake up. That would only mean that he would have to go shopping with Eriol and Tomoyo. He tried to hide himself under the covers, pretending that he was still asleep and was hoping to fall back asleep until…

"SYAORAN!" a voice rang through his head. He immediately knew that he wasn't going to be able to fake it anymore. No one would be able to sleep through that.

Syaoran moaned as he pretended to just wake up. "Eriol, why are you waking me up so early? I'm still sleepy." He yawned.

"Early? Have you looked at the clock?" Eriol pointed at the time. It was almost noon.

"But I never sleep this late. Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" Syaoran yelled.

"I don't know. I thought you were faking it so you wouldn't have to go shopping." Eriol shrugged. "But I guess I was wrong. It sounded like you wanted to be woken early. Maybe because you wanted to go with Daidouji-chan today?"

"No, that's not it," Syaoran said sharply, glaring at him. "I just don't like sleeping in that late, and you know it. And I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be getting along with Daidouji-chan very well." Syaoran grinned.

Eriol's face turned red. "Well…that's not…I mean…"

Syaoran was liking this and decided to use it to his advantage. "Say...what if I told her this?" Syaoran asked, acting innocently.

"You wouldn't." Eriol gave him a glare.

"You're right, I wouldn't, but I will if you keep on 'accidentally' spilling stuff out of your mouth. You also have to figure out a way to stop the girl from coming here," Syaoran retorted.

"You're evil."

"I only learn from the best." Syaoran smirked as he patted Eriol on the back.

"Fine. I won't tell them anymore secrets, but I can't promise anything about stopping Sakura-chan from coming here. She's very stubborn at times." Eriol explained.

Syaoran thought about this. "You're right, but you can't tell anymore of my secrets, or I'll spill yours." They shook on this.

Tomoyo arrived promptly at one in a limousine. Eriol and Syaoran weren't expecting a limousine; but then again, she was Sakura's cousin.

"So are you two ready to go?" Tomoyo asked, hopping out of the limo. Eriol and Syaoran nodded and followed her back into the limo.

"Did you borrow this from Sakura-chan?" Eriol asked, wanting to start a conversation.

Tomoyo laughed. "No. This one's mine."

Syaoran and Eriol had a confused look on their face. "My mom owns a toy company so I guess you can say that I'm rich too."

The two boys nodded. Both boys were poor and had no families, and yet two girls that want to be their friends were exact opposites of them.

"You don't mind if my bodyguard follows us, do you?" Tomoyo asked quickly. She knew there was something that she was forgetting to tell them.

"You have a bodyguard too?" Syaoran asked awestruck as his eyes widen and his mouth open.

"Yeah, my mom hired one and so," she said briefly, wanting to change the subject.

"Does Sakura-chan have one too?" Eriol asked.

"Nope, but if you really think about it, she doesn't need one with Touya around."

Syaoran shivered at the thought, remembering how the older boy didn't like him and threatened to kill me so many times.

"By the way," Eriol began, "we were wondering if you know what we can buy for oh…I don't know…211 yens?"

"You only have 211 yens?" Tomoyo then realized they did live in an orphanage so money was going to be a probably. "Not to worry. Since you two are friends with Sakura…(well only Eriol), I'll lend you 1,000 yens each."

Tomoyo grabbed her wallet, took out some yens, and handed the boys exactly 1,000 yens each.

"B…b…but…" both Eriol and Syaoran stuttered. Syaoran was first to act.

"No, I couldn't take it even if I did borrow the money. How would I be able to pay you back?" Syaoran said roughly, trying to give her back the money.

"Syaoran's right. Who knows if we'll ever get adopted or a job?" Eriol backed him up, looking at the money. He had never seen that much money in his life.

"That's true…" Tomoyo thought aloud, "but that's OK. There's no price to pay for Sakura's happiness, but just don't tell her about this. Once you do get some money, you can pay me back," she said happily.

"I guess we can't get out of this," Syaoran muttered to Eriol, who nodded.

"Thank you. You're very kind," Eriol told Tomoyo, stuffing the money in his pocket.

"Don't mention it."

"So where exactly are we going?" Syaoran said coldly. Even though Tomoyo was being nice to him, he still wasn't going to be friends with her that easily.

"You'll see," she said mysteriously with a gleam in her amethyst eyes.

"Daidouji-chan, what did you buy for Sakura-chan?" Eriol asked.

"I didn't really buy her anything. I made her something," the raven hair girl replied, grinning.

"See? We should've made her something instead of being in debt to some rich girl," Syaoran yelled at Eriol.

"What can you make? A macaroni noodle necklace? I'm sure Sakura-chan will like it very much since you put so much thought in it," Eriol spat sarcastically.

Syaoran just mocked Eriol, folding his arms. Tomoyo giggled at the sight.

A few minutes later, the door opened and standing was a tall, long dark hair woman in a black suit wearing sunglasses.

"We are here, Ms. Daidouji," the woman told them as she stood aside and waited patiently for them to get out.

"Thank you," Tomoyo replied politely once they got out of the limousine.

"An outdoor market?" Syaoran turned around and looked at Tomoyo.

"Yup. They have lots of stuff here, and if you're with the right person, you can get a bargain on some things," the amethyst eye girl told them. "Plus, I buy my fabrics here," she added.

"Fabric?" Eriol commented.

"It's nothing."

Tomoyo led them around the outdoor markets to shops that she thought they might be able to buy her something. Naturally, her bodyguard followed them, keeping a watchful eye on them and any suspicious people.

"Oh, and this shop is the best if you're looking for stuff animals." The girl led them into the sixth shop that day. "But some things can be a little expensive."

So far, they had found nothing for Sakura yet, and Syaoran was getting impatient. Whenever he had found something possible for Sakura, Tomoyo and Eriol would always criticize it like 'it's too cheap', 'it's too small', 'Sakura won't like that'.

The shop had lots of shelves filled with stuff animals and dolls. There wasn't a space that was empty.

"Ah, Daidouji-san, what brings you here?" an old, wrinkled woman asked she came closer to them. The boys figured that she was probably the owner.

"Mrs. Hoshiwa, it's good to see you again," Tomoyo bowed. "I'm just showing a couple of friends your shop. Sakura's birthday is Saturday."

"Sakura's birthday, huh? How is she? She's just so adorable," the older woman kept on talking about her.

Tomoyo smiled. "She's fine. If you don't mind, we're going to look around for awhile."

Mrs. Hoshiwa just nodded as she went back behind the counter.

The three separated, searching for something Sakura might like, but it was useless. They couldn't find anything perfect. Sure there were cute ones that Sakura might have liked, but it was way too expensive. One happened to cost 1,000,000 yens.

Just as they were leaving, something got Eriol's eyes. His eyes wandered to a small top shelve in a corner. There was a gold colored stuff animal with small wings and a long tail. He had small black eyes and big ears. Next to him was a dark blue one with big eyes and a longer ear. He also had wings and a tail.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Hoshiwa," Eriol began. His voice was excited as he nearly jumped up and down. "How much are those two?" He pointed to the shelf that had the two stuff animals he was staring at.

"Oh those two. I'm afraid it's not for sale," she started, but once she saw Eriol's disappointed face, she quickly changed her mind. "But this is Sakura's birthday, and I don't want her to have a unhappy birthday so I guess I can let it go this one time." She winked at Eriol.

"Thank you so much! So how much is it?"

Mrs. Hoshiwa stared at him for a moment deciding what the price would be. Tomoyo's bodyguard had told her that the two boys were from the orphanage so money was an issue.

"How about 1,000 yens?" she said carefully, not sure if he would have the amount needed.

"Really?" Eriol's eyes widen. He handed her the exact amount, thanking Tomoyo a thousand times in his head.

The old woman got a ladder, and Tomoyo's bodyguard offered to go get it.

"Thanks again!" Eriol said happily, giving her a bow in gratitude.

Once Eriol bought his gift for Sakura, Syaoran had a little more patience. After another few shops, his patience was once more getting thin. He just wanted to go home.

"Can we go home? It's hopeless. I'm never going to find something for that girl!" he complained. "It's either too small or too expensive or you guys just don't like it!"

"Quit whining. Every time we give you something, you just don't like it," Eriol implied.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Hey, why don't you buy her this?" Tomoyo interrupted the feuding two and showed them two white clips with a pink cherry blossom on them.

"Another name for cherry blossom is Sakura. That's perfect," Eriol quickly agreed.

"Not only that, but you can afford it too, Li-kun," Tomoyo added.

Syaoran grumbled something, but took the clips away from Tomoyo and went to pay for it. When he was paying for the clips, he remembered that she told him that she liked cherry blossoms. He had to grudgingly admit that it was the perfect gift too.

"Now can we go home?" Syaoran asked annoyed, once he returned with a bag in hand.

Tomoyo and Eriol laughed as they headed back to the car.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **I know there haven't been romantic SS moments, but it is just building up to the part. They're just kids after all.

**People have been asking me 'bout when they're going to be older, and don't worry. Just wait for a few more chapters, and they'll be a little older so just be patient!**

DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!


	5. Bday Bash

**Author's Note: **Sorry readers! I don't mean to confuse you or anything, but I wanted to retype this chapter. The concept is the same, but I changed some things. You don't have to read this, but I'm just telling you this.

Course all of you are probably wondering why and I'll tell you. One of my reviews (won't mention who) I got said that Syaoran should've reacted more since Sakura was living in his old house and other stuff, and she/he was right so I'm retyping it as if Sakura wasn't living in Syaoran's old house.

**Note to reviewers: **I will kindly accept criticism because I want to be a better writer, and getting criticized will help me so don't think that I'll stop writing this story or get mad that I dislike the criticizer. There'll probably be times where I'll disagree with them, but at least I learned something, right?

Flames I will hate! If you don't like my story, then don't read and review! Don't tell me my story sucks when other people like it, got it? (Haven't gotten a flame yet, but it's just a warning)

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter V

--B-day Bash—

"Come on Syaoran!" his best friend moaned. "You have to!"

"No I don't!" the brown hair boy spat.

"But it's untraditional to give a birthday present unwrapped!" Eriol argued.

"I don't care!"

"But I do."

"I don't care if you do or don't. It's my present to her and yours," Syaoran said firmly, folding his arms across his chest.

"Come on. It's not that hard. It doesn't have to be perfect like mine." Eriol showed him his wrapped gift for Sakura.

"invrbentoarty," Syaoran mumbled.

"What?"

"Ivnevrbentoabirfdayarty. Ivenevrwrpedagft," he mumbled again, but a little more clearer though Eriol still couldn't understand him.

"What? For goodness sake Syaoran, speak up!" Eriol yelled at him.

"I've never been to a birthday party. I've never wrapped a gift!" Syaoran burst out, annoyed. "There, happy?"

"HAHAHAHA!" Eriol laughed as Syaoran's face turned red. "You should've just told me."

"Shut up!" Syaoran shouted.

"Hey, it's my first birthday party too," Eriol defended. "Let me teach you how to wrap something then. Good thing we have an hour 'til the limo picks us up."

"Syaoran!" Eriol yelled a few minutes later. "Are you listening to me?"

It was obvious that he wasn't listening to Eriol. He was busy trying to wrap it perfect himself though it didn't work out right. Syaoran messed up the roll of tape, and it was all over the wrapping paper, and somehow, he was covered in the wrapping paper.

"I didn't know you'd be the gift. I know you like Sakura-chan, but I don't think that she'll like you that way. You can first commit to her by being her friend and then maybe it'll be more but not now," Eriol commented, laughing.

"I don't like her, Eriol!" Syaoran bellowed as he tried to chase after his friend, but ended up tripping.

Eriol laughed even harder that his stomach hurt. "Stop it, Syaoran. My tummy, it hurts from laughing at you."

"HIIRAGIZAWA!" Syaoran hissed, trying to break free from the paper around him.

"OK, OK," Eriol said through deep breaths as he tried to calm down. "I'll free you if you promise not to chase me and follow my instructions as I teach you how to wrap something."

Syaoran glared at him, but agreed. It took them fifteen minutes to finish. Enough time to spare to go change into their nicest outfit, and before they knew it, the limousine had arrived, and they were heading to Sakura's house.

Syaoran and Eriol were gawking at the neighborhood that Sakura lived in. Every single house was big and beautiful. It reminded Syaoran of his home, but shoved it in the back of his head, not wanting to remember…not now at least for it wasn't the right time.

"It's a pretty nice house, don't you think Syaoran?" Eriol commented once they turned to Sakura's house and drove to the driveway, wishing he could live in a nice house like that.

Syaoran nodded his head. Then, the door opened, and the two boys hopped out to find Sakura, Tomoyo, and Sakura's father standing out front.

"Hello," Mr. Kinomoto said kindly.

"Hello," both boys said, bowing down for respect.

"Li-kun, Eriol, come on. Let me show you around the house!" Sakura spoke up as she dragged them both around the house.

Sakura led them to various rooms on the first floor before going on the upstairs' room. Both boys gazed at the tremendous rooms filled with paintings and grand furniture.

Syaoran knew that his family was pretty rich, but this was ten times that. Then, his eyes landed on something vaguely familiar. The amber-eyed boy stopped walking and tried to remember why a portrait of a black hair, emerald eyed woman caught his attention.

"Syaoran, earth to Syaoran," Eriol waved his hand in front of him. Syaoran blinked a couple of time and got out of his daze.

"Yeah?"

"You were staring at that painting pretty long," Eriol commented as the girls made their way to the boys. "I can't blame you though. She's very pretty."

"That's my mother!" Sakura said happily.

"You like just like her, expect for your hair color," the navy hair boy remarked.

"I get that a lot, but I wish I got to know her…" Sakura's chirpy expression changed to grief.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't me--…" Syaoran cut off Eriol.

"She's looks familiar."

Tomoyo and Sakura's eyes widen in wonder. "What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know," he grunted, shrugging his shoulders. "She just does. Let's just drop it, k?"

"Well then, let's go to my room!" Sakura lightened up the atmosphere, hopping up the stairs.

Tomoyo followed the bouncing girl, leaving Eriol and Syaoran walking behind. Syaoran was unconsciously following them, his mind still wondering why Sakura's mom looked familiar and where he had seen her.

"...Tada! This is my room!" Sakura said proudly, opening the door to reveal a pink room with white drawers. Dolls and dress-up costumes were everywhere. A window faced the backyard. Pictures of her mom and family were posted up around the room.

"What'd'ya think?" she asked, plopping down on her bed.

Eriol and Syaoran made a disgusted face. "It's too girly."

"Well duh," Tomoyo commented. "What did you expect?"

Syaoran was opening his mouth to reply, but suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Mr. Kinomoto's head peered into the room.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I have a special treat for you guys. It's in the backyard," he told them as Sakura, Tomoyo, and Eriol cheered and rushed at the door. Syaoran slowly marched out the door, wishing that the day would be over already.

In the middle of the backyard, there was a huge red and white striped tent. The four entered the tent and gasped.

"A circus?" Sakura and Tomoyo exclaimed, jumping up and down.

"Hey kaijuu!" her brother yelled, waving for them to come over.

Sakura immediately ran to Touya and stomped on his foot. "I'm not a kaijuu!"

"OW!" the dark hair man quickly rubbed his foot and sent a glare at his sister.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" Yukito smiled. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks!"

"It looks like your dad paid a lot of money to rent the circus," Yukito commented.

"Yeah, well, it is her first birthday party with friends besides Tomoyo," Touya retorted. "Though I don't see why the brat was invited," he said in a low voice so only Yukito would hear.

That instant, the lights dimmed, and music started playing. Soon elephants, clowns, and acrobats starting coming in and were doing their trick(s).

Then, after the little preview, they went back outside, leaving the ringleader in the middle with a mike, and the show began. There were the traditional clowns, elephants, horses, acrobats, and such.

For the boys, it was something that they both wouldn't forget in a long time, especially Eriol.

"That was great!" Syaoran said once the show was over.

"Speak for yourself," Eriol grumbled. On one of the acts, a clown squirted him with water. The glasses wearing boy was wet in front and dry in back.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault you got wet," Syaoran said innocently. "But I'd say you'd deserved it."

"It was your fault! You ran from your seat leaving me wide open!" Eriol scolded.

"For friends, you two argue a lot," Tomoyo spoke up, stopping the feuding two.

"Hmph," both Eriol and Syaoran said as they folded their arms.

"So squirt, what do you want to do now?" Touya asked.

"I don't know," Sakura said, thinking really hard.

"Well, I do." Sakura was going to turn to Touya and ask what, but she found herself being blinded.

"Onii-chan, what are you doing?" the emerald-eyed girl yelled.

"Dad bought you a piñata so we're going to hit the piñata for candy," Touya explained as he led them to a nearby tree. The silver hair boy was already there with the piñata. He was going to be in charged of moving it up and down.

"YAY!" the younger kids cheered. They all took turns hitting the piñata. It was only until they were at their fourth time when it started to crack.

Syaoran was up next, and he smirked. He knew he couldn't see where it was, but he could sense it. With one final hit, the whole thing cracked. He could hear the other three running to grab the candy. Syaoran took off the blindfold and quickly joined them.

Syaoran's eyes gleam with joy when he saw the types of candy. "Chocolate!" he yelled as he grabbed as many chocolate candy as he could.

Sakura giggled and said, "You must really like chocolate, huh?"

Then Syaoran realized how he was acting and put his cold face on again and grunted a yes.

After all the candy had disappeared into the hands of the kids, they started eating them, but Sakura's dad came out and stopped them.

"I wouldn't be in a hurry to eat the candy. You're going to ruin your appetite. I'm sure you would rather have pizza for dinner," he commented as they looked up. Their mouths were covered in different colors and tastes.

"I knew Sakura ate like a monster, but I never expected her friends too. I guess that's why she can't find friends at school. It's because they aren't a monster," Touya commented.

Sakura glared. "I'M NOT A MONSTER! DON'T CALL THEM MONSTERS EITHER, TOUYA!" she yelled as she started chasing after her brother. She was going to stomp on his feet a million times so that they would fall off, but the only probably was that Touya's legs were much longer, and he was much faster.

"Touya," Mr. Kinomoto said sharply as the siblings stopped.

"Sorry," Touya mumbled.

"Why don't we go inside and wash up before eating?" Mr. Kinomoto said as the younger kids went to the bathroom to clean themselves.

"Move over!" Syaoran barked as he shoved Sakura over from the sink.

"Hey!" Sakura argued, trying to get her share on using the sink.

Before you know it, the two were fighting and not with words, but with water, soap, and anything else in the bathroom.

"Hohoho!" Tomoyo laughed as she took out her camcorder.

"I do hope you know that they're making a mess. Mr. Kinomoto will get mad," Eriol said nervously as the clean bathroom was now wet and soap was making everything bubbly.

"Don't worry. Uncle Fujitaka doesn't get mad that easily, and he understands the situation between the two," Tomoyo told him.

"Look out!" Eriol shouted as he pushed Tomoyo to the side and landed on top of her. A bar of soap went flying right where Tomoyo was.

"Thank you," she said. Eriol turned to look at her, and then they both realized how close their faces where.

"Sorry," Eriol muttered as his face turned pink, and he got off of her.

When the two got up, they saw Mr. Kinomoto standing right behind them and watching the scene.

Both Tomoyo and Eriol gulped. "Umm…. Syaoran…you might want to stop," Eriol whispered.

"Yeah, Sakura, it might be best if…er…stop too," Tomoyo said softly.

Both Sakura and Syaoran stopped and turned their head toward the door. That instant, both their faces turned red.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kinomoto," Syaoran said, bowing. "I'm a guest, and here I am, destroying your bathroom."

"Sorry, Dad." Sakura looked at her feet, not wanting to look at her father.

Mr. Kinomoto gave a long sigh and smiled. "It's alright. Both of you weren't hurt so it's OK, but next time, please don't do this again."

They nodded their heads. "Now, why don't we go eat?"

The four slowly headed to the kitchen. All four were embarrassed.

During the meal, the four kids sat separately from Touya, Yukito, and Mr. Kinomoto. Touya was reluctant to have Syaoran and Sakura at the same table though he still looked over at them every few seconds.

Sakura happily took a bite at her pepperoni pizza. "Li-kun, are you my friend now?" she asked innocently.

"What! No!" Syaoran spat immediately, almost spitting the food in his mouth.

"But you can to my birthday party," Sakura argued.

"Because you three blackmailed me," Syaoran defended.

"Why not? Here I am trying to be your friend, doing all these nice things for you, but you just yell at me in return," Sakura said angrily, as tears started to form. "All I want is to be your friend."

"Why?" Syaoran said after a long pause. "Why do you want to be my friend after all this time. I've been a jerk to you."

"Because I like you," Sakura said simply. "I like Tomoyo, and she's my friend. I like Eriol, and he's my friend."

Syaoran didn't say anything. He continued to munch on his pizza, thinking.

'She likes me?' Syaoran thought.

'Yeah, but then she likes Daidouji and Eriol,' the other side of his brain told him.

'She wouldn't hurt me if she liked me, right? Then maybe she won't leave me.'

'She could be acting,' his brain argued. 'First she becomes your friend, and then, she'll slowly take Eriol away from you just like the murderer took your parents away.'

'I don't care 'bout Eriol,' Syaoran told his brain.

'You don't, do you? Well, if you don't, then how did he become your friend?'

Syaoran couldn't think of anything. 'See…' the brain said.

'It wouldn't hurt to try. I mean, I let Eriol in, and sure he's annoying, but he's still there with me after all of this mess,' Syaoran thought.

'What? No! You tried so hard not to give in, and now you do?' his brain disputed.

'Yeah, but she won't give in. Someone's bound to give in.'

'If you do, you'll only get yourself hurt again,' his brain said firmly.

'Fine. If I get hurt again, then I won't be friends with anyone, not even Eriol,' Syaoran compromised.

'Promise?'

'Why should I? You're just my brain,' Syaoran realized that instant.

'Promise or else I can make your heart stop beating,' his brain threatened.

'What? You can't do that,' Syaoran thought, but then panicked. What if he really could? 'Fine. You win.'

"Syaoran, are you finished?" a voice broke his thoughts.

"Huh? Yeah," he said, once he realized what just happened.

"You've been acting weird today," Eriol commented, taking his plate to the trash bag. "You keep on dazing out on me."

"So?" Syaoran said. "I'm at the _girl's_ house for a stupid birthday party that I never wanted to go in the first place. Then, I come here to find that there's something about her mom that is oddly familiar, and I don't know why!"

"Sorry," Eriol mummered, wishing that he wasn't so testy.

"It's cake time!" Sakura popped up behind them.

Her dad came to their table with a cake and knife in hand. He carefully placed it on the table and lit the six candles that where placed on the cake. It said 'Happy Birthday Sakura' in the middle.

"It's your favorite, strawberry short cake," Mr. Kinomoto told her, smiling.

"Did you make it?" Sakura asked.

Her father nodded.

"YAY!" Sakura was about to dig in when her brother grabbed her by the hand.

"Not yet, squirt," he smiled. "We gotta sing Happy Birthday to you first."

They closed the light and everyone but Sakura sang Happy Birthday. (Syaoran kinda mumbled.)

"Make a wish and blow out the candles, Sakura," Tomoyo grinned, recording all of this.

'I wish for Syaoran to be my friend,' Sakura hoped as she blew out the candles. After Sakura made her wish, Mr. Kinomoto took the candles out and cut the cake.

"What did you wish for, Sakura?" Tomoyo whispered.

"It's a secret." Sakura placed a finger over her mouth.

"I guess the only thing left now is for your presents," Tomoyo said loudly, changing the subject.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Sakura uttered.

"Open mine first!" Tomoyo exclaimed.

"No, open mine!" Eriol yelled.

"Hmmm…" Sakura said as she pretended to think. "I pick Syaoran's!"

"Wah?" he asked, a little taken back.

"I want to open your present first," she told him.

Syaoran handed her the tiny package, and she opened it.

"It's so pretty! Thank you, Li-kun!" Sakura grinned as she hugged him. "I'm going to where it every day!"

Syaoran's face turned to fifty shades of red.

"Sakura, what do you think you're doing! Get off of him!" Touya yelled as he got up and scrambled to separate the two.

Sakura let go and stuck her tongue out at him. She grabbed the nearest gift next to her, which happened to be Tomoyo's.

Inside the box was a neatly folded pink shirt with matching pants. "I hope you like it. I made it myself with some help," the amethyst-eyed girl said shyly.

"You made it?" Sakura's eyes grew bigger. "You're only six, and you made this?"

Tomoyo nodded.

"So this is what you meant by making her a gift," Eriol spoke up. "It's very good."

"Thanks. I want to be a designer when I grow up," she said proudly.

"You'll make a very good one." Eriol nodded. "Now, Sakura-chan, open mine next!" Eriol handed Sakura his nicely wrapped present.

"Stuff animals!" Sakura screamed. "I think I'll call the yellow one Kero, and the blue one Spinel!"

"Kero and Spinel? What kind of names are those?" her brother said with disgust.

"Now Touya, don't be mean to your sister on her birthday," their father scolded.

"I'm sorry," he said for the second time that day.

"Here Sakura-chan," Yukito smiled, giving her his present.

Sakura happily opened it and found a bunny slippers. "Thank you!" she said, before moving on to the next gift.

"Here you go sweetie," Mr. Kinomoto said kindly. "Open this one before seeing Touya's gift."

Sakura ripped open the package to find a brown bear. "Did you make this?" she asked when she saw it saying 'Happy 6th Birthday, Sakura' on it's stomach.

"Yup," he replied.

"Your dad can do lots of stuff," Eriol whispered to Sakura.

"Yeah. He can cook and sew stuff," Syaoran agreed, nodding his head and for once, being nice.

Sakura beamed. "So Onii-chan, what did you get me?" she asked.

"Go to the living room and see, squirt." He gave her a brotherly smile.

Sakura ran to the living room, and the others followed, wondering what Touya had given her.

"WOW!" Sakura exclaimed as she saw a fish tank in the living room. "Look at all the fishies!"

Sakura awed at all the different color and types of fish. Touya put some fish food in the tank, and the fish immediately chased after the food. Sakura clapped her hands and screamed in amusement.

"Thank you, Onii-chan!" Sakura shouted with glee as she hugged her brother.

"Sakura, honey, I think it's time for Li and Hiiragizawa to go back to the orphanage," Mr. Kinomoto told her once she broke the hug.

"Aww! Already?" Sakura pouted.

"They can come back another time," the older man chuckled. "Besides, if they don't leave, Mrs. Ewina would be worried, and you and Tomoyo won't get your sleepover," he added.

"Then can ride the limousine back with them?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"I don't know. It depends on Tomoyo too," he added.

Sakura looked at Tomoyo with puppy eyes. The raven hair girl laughed. "Alright, come on boys."

The four piled in the limo and drove to the orphanage.

"Hey Li-kun, you know what I noticed?" Tomoyo started a conversation with a mischievous grin.

"What…?" Syaoran replied slowly, raising an eyebrow.

"You've been somewhat nicer to Sakura today than others. Why is that?" she asked, getting Sakura's and Eriol's attention.

"No I haven't," he argued.

"Don't be like that," Tomoyo frowned. "Just tell the truth, Li-kun."

The amber-eyed boy gave a sigh and started debating in his head.

'Should I tell her now?' he thought. 'But then Eriol might start making fun of me…again.'

'You're going to have to tell her sooner or later,' his brain commented. 'Who knows if you're going to get adopted one of these days? Who knows if this'll be the last time you'll see her?'

Syaoran kind of fidgeted in his thoughts.

'Come on,' his brain urged. 'Maybe you're scared because you don't want to lose on the promise/bet,' the brain taunted.

"All right!" Syaoran yelled, scaring his companions. Then he realized what he just did. "Sorry," he muttered. "If you really want to know why I've been nicer then I'll tell you. I guess…it won't be bad if…if I become friends with her…and you too… Daidouji-chan."

Syaoran looked up from the floor or the limo to Sakura and Tomoyo.

"That's a big surprise there, Li-kun," Tomoyo commented while smiling. "What do you think, Sakura?"

Sakura's smile grew wider and wider. Her emerald eyes glittered even more. "Really? So that'll mean you'll be nicer to Tomoyo and me? And you'll have to call me by my first name," Sakura rambled on.

"Sakura-chan, I don't think that because you're Syaoran friend, he'll be nicer to you. Look at my relationship with him for example. He can still be a jerk," Eriol interrupted Sakura.

"It's an improvement though," Tomoyo added.

"I'm so happy! My birthday wish came true. I wished for Syaoran to be my friend, and it came true, and I wished for it at the pond too," Sakura told them, excitedly.

"Oh no!" Tomoyo cried out in despair. "I didn't get to tape the whole conversation. I was going to name it 'Syaoran's New Friends'," Tomoyo sulked.

The other three gave her a look. "Tomoyo…" Sakura said weakly.

Things were going to get more interesting for then on now that Syaoran had announced his new friendship with them.

XXXXX 

**Author's Note: **So if any of you reread this, then you can see some change AND Sakura's mom has an important role now, but the question is what? Keep reading and find out in the later chapters!

Review please!


	6. A Little Summer Fun and more

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter VI

--A Little Summer Fun and more--

Three months passed by since Syaoran had cave in and became Sakura and Tomoyo's friend. Now, the four would hang out more often, and Syaoran was becoming more open and friendlier, but still had his meanness here and there.

He had sometimes regret ever becoming their friends, but there were times when it was worth it. Syaoran was happy actually. The two girls hadn't left him yet, but then again, three months wasn't that long.

Just like every July, it was blazing hot. Today was no anomaly. The four were sitting in a van with the AC on max. No, they weren't sitting there to get cool off for they were heading a nearby lake!

Mr. Kinomoto had taken a day off and promised to take them out to the lake, letting his children bring along a friend or three. He had brought a boat along in case they didn't want to swim.

"Any of you want something to drink?" Touya asked, taking a soda from the ice chest for himself.

Syaoran turned around and was about to open his mouth to say he would, but Touya immediately said, "Except for the gaki."

Syaoran turned back around and angrily grumbled something under his breath. He was used to this after a few months. What was the point in trying?

"Here you go." Yukito handed Syaoran a cold soda. "I guess Touya still hates you," the silver hair man commented kindly.

"Thank you," Syaoran said politely and saw Touya glaring at him. Syaoran returned his glare before turning around again. "What did I ever do to him? I think I've had enough tortured from him already."

"Maybe it was because you were mean to Sakura-chan in the beginning?" Eriol suggested.

"Or it's because you're actually friends with her now, and he just plainly doesn't like you," Tomoyo added.

"No, you're both wrong," Sakura spoke up. "It's because he doesn't want me to have any friends. He's too overprotective."

"I think it's all three," Syaoran said, nodding his head.

"Daddy, are we almost there?" Sakura asked, changing the subject.

"Almost sweetie. Just a wait a bit longer," Mr. Kinomoto replied, driving the van.

A bit longer came soon enough for in about twenty minutes, they could view the sun's rays reflected the water on the lake. There were a few boats on the lake in the center. Dots of people could been seen in a small section of the lake, swimming around.

A few minutes later, Mr. Kinomoto parked the van. "So what do you guys want to do first?" Sakura's father asked, turning his head around to the other passengers.

Syaoran's eyes wandered to the area where people were fishing while Sakura's emerald orbs were staring at the shallow water.

"Fishing/swimming!" Syaoran and Sakura yelled in unison, and then looked at each other.

"Let's go fishing because it's not crowded now," Syaoran explained, his eyes glowering.

"Swimming because it's hot, and the water will cool us." Sakura's raging eyes matched his glare.

"Fishing!"

"Swimming!"

"Fishing!"

"Swimming!"

"Boat ride?" Tomoyo and Eriol interrupted them.

Syaoran and Sakura's head turned toward the owners of the voices. "Let's go take a boat ride first. We can go swimming in the afternoon when the sun's a little down," Tomoyo explained.

"We can go fishing on the boat, but if you'd rather fish here, Syaoran, then we can afterwards," Eriol finished.

"Alright," they mumbled.

Mr. Kinomoto drove the van backwards so that the boat could be placed on the water. Touya and Yukito were helping him by telling him where to go. The kids had gotten out of the van and were watching from afar.

After some time, Touya waved for them to come over. The white boat was floating in the water, waiting patiently to be driven. Luckily, it was big enough to fit all seven of them but just barely.

"Can we go now?" Sakura moaned restlessly, tapping her foot now wearing her orange lifejacket. Sakura had jumped on the boat, but her dark hair brother grabbed her by the collar, telling her that they had to wear a lifejacket.

Sakura's dad chuckled as he checked to make sure that all four had secured their lifejacket on. "Now we can," her dad told her.

Sakura let a 'yippee' as she was the first one to board the boat. Quickly, one by one, everyone went into the boat and sat down except for Mr. Kinomoto. He had to steer the boat.

Soon, the gang was heading out to the deeper ends of the water. Sakura yelped a bit when she felt the boat moving, and the wind flying through her hair. She glanced around at her surroundings as they passed by, trying to admire the view.

The amethyst-eyed girl had a wide grinned on her face as she taped Sakura and the others. Luckily Tomoyo was too busy filming that she couldn't tell that a certain blue-eyed boy was gawking at her.

A smirk appeared on Syaoran's face when he noticed this and gave Eriol a nudge to get his attention elsewhere. Of course Eriol's face instantly turned to look at something else as his pale cheeks turned into bright hues of red ones.

Touya was keeping a keen, watchful eye on his little sister and a particular brown hair boy. He didn't like him and never would even though they were now friends. The dark hair boy had a sixth sense about these things and only Yukito knew what he knew about them.

A couple of minutes later, they found themselves out in the deep waters of the lake with the boat halting. Mr. Kinomoto turned his head around to ask them a simple question, "What do you want to do now, fishing or going around the lake?"

Four hands shot up in the air for fishing while the other two grumbled in defeat.

"Fishing it is then." Mr. Kinomoto continued to steer the boat for another minute and placed it on parked. Touya, Yukito, and Mr. Kinomoto took out the fishing gear and passed it around for everyone.

"Um…I don't know how to fish…" Tomoyo's face turned bright pink as she tighten her gripe on the fishing rod.

"So that's why you didn't raise you hand when Daddy asked us," Sakura piped up. Tomoyo nodded her head.

"It's OK. I'll teach you," Eriol offered, not looking at Tomoyo. He could hear Syaoran snickering next to him.

So everyone started setting up their line and plopped it in the water except for Tomoyo. Eriol had to show and teach Tomoyo how to do it. Eriol would blush when their hands would brush past each other's hand.

When Eriol was busy teaching Tomoyo, the others were waiting patiently for a tug. Seconds slowly turned into minutes. The entire group was getting restless. It seemed as if hours had pass, but only twenty minutes flew by.

"I give up," Syaoran groaned, taking his line out of the water and setting it down on the boat. "This is taking forever! Let's do something else since none of us seems to be getting a bite."

Everyone, including Touya, agreed, but just as Sakura was about to take her line out of the water, she felt a slight tug. The tug turned into a jerk as she firmly held on to the fishing rod and shouted, "I think I got something!"

The other passengers averted their attention to Sakura yelling and cheering, "Come on Sakura!" and "Don't let go!" and such.

Before you knew it, Sakura was leaning over the edge of the boat, determined to get the fish that to her surprise, she fell in.

Everyone gasped and quickly ran over to find, trying to find Sakura. With everyone's weight on one side, the boat immediately wobbled. Syaoran didn't even have to think to react for he jumped in the water, trying to rescue Sakura and lighten the load.

The rush of water that Syaoran felt enabled him to see underwater for a few seconds, but when he could see, he found an orange dot above him. The amber-eyed boy knew that it was Sakura, and that she was unharmed.

Kicking his feet so that he could swim upward, Syaoran realized that he wasn't moving. He saw the hook on Sakura's fishing rod, snagged onto his swimming trunks. His eyes followed the hook to the line to the whole rod to find it wedged between two rocks and wouldn't budge.

Panic rose for what could he possible do? His lungs were crying out for air, but there was no air for only water surrounded him. He held his breathe in for the last few seconds he had, and then his lungs collapsed. All he could see was black, and all he felt was water buzzing by as he drifted down. Whatever happened next, he never knew…

**XXXXX**

"Is he alright?" a voice asked concernedly.

"Sakura, for the thousandth time, he's fine," a gruff voice replied.

"But he's not moving…Maybe he's dead," the first voice whimpered.

"He's not dead. He still has a pulse," someone joined in.

"Hohoho, and I got it all on tape," a feminine voice spoke up. "You should've seen him jump in, Sakura. He was obviously trying to save your life."

"Hoe…it's all my fault…" Sakura moped as tears began building up.

"It's not your fault, Sakura-chan," someone's low voice soothed her.

"He's right. It was his choice to go down there. Even with a lifejacket, he still manages to mess things up. He's so stupid," someone else sighed.

"…Oi…" a horsed voice uttered.

"Hey, see, he's alive. Probably still stupid but alive," Eriol commented, hiding behind Tomoyo and Sakura.

"Eriol!" Syaoran tried again, this time opening his eyes, but sudden change of lighting made his eyes cower.

"Li-kun, I'm so glad that you're alright!" Sakura jumped on him and gave him a hug.

"Yeah, yeah. Now will you please get off me?" he barked, trying to remember what happened exactly. "The girl drowned, I jumped in and tried to save her and end up nearly killing myself," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Li, I'm glad to know that you're OK," Sakura's dad came in after Touya. "That was a very brave thing you did."

Syaoran's face turned red from the compliment. "I'm sorry I ruined the day. By the way, what time is it?"

"It's a little past lunchtime. I'm sure we're all hungry so let's go start our barbecue," Mr. Kinomoto stated as all seven of them headed to the barbecue area.

It looked as if the food was already in place. All they had to do was wait for the ribs and chicken legs to be ready.

After they finished eating and waiting for after an hour, Sakura, Tomoyo, Syaoran, and Eriol decided to go join Touya and Yukito in the lake, swimming.

"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Sakura shouted as she started running to the lake in her pink swimsuit.

The other three starting chasing after her, yelling 'No fair', 'You cheated', and other things. Even though Sakura had a head start, she saw a flash of green past her.

"I win!" Syaoran yelled. Sakura pouted when she had caught up. The other two were huffing for air.

"You're fast, Li-kun," Tomoyo said, trying to catch her breath. She was wearing a purple swimsuit.

"He's only fast when he's competitive," boy wearing the blue swim trunk corrected.

Syaoran just smirked and stared wading around a little bit, waiting for the others to get the water. Once the others caught their breaths, they walked in the water to where Syaoran was.

Touya noticed them entering the water and smirked. He whispered something to Yukito and started making his way towards them. Luckily it was crowded or else he was going to have some trouble lurking at them.

He didn't know what they were rambling about, but when he was in close range, he a merged from the water, scaring the pants off them.

"HOE!" Sakura screamed. Syaoran, Tomoyo, and Eriol nearly jumped a feet out of the water, but then turned and glared at the older boy.

"That wasn't funny!" Syaoran and Eriol spat at the laughing Touya. Yukito appeared once he saw what Touya was up to.

"Onii-chan, that was mean," Sakura pouted. The other swimmers around them were a little amused at the sight but quickly went back doing whatever they were doing.

"Sorry, but I couldn't help myself," Touya said with a mischievous grin.

Sakura glared at him, and then a smile appeared on her face. She walked closer to her brother and splashed him. Touya blinked a few times and snapped, "This is war."

He tried to get his revenge by splashing Sakura, but he missed and hit Syaoran, who immediately starting splashing Touya but hit Yukito. Soon, it was war against everybody, and everyone for themselves.

Then, a huge splash had hit all six of them. They stopped whatever they were doing and looked around, trying to figure out where that huge wave came from. To their surprise, the other families there had joined forces to attack them to make them stop.

They muttered, "Sorry," and went to swim around or do anything that wouldn't bother the other people.

As much fun as they were having, it was time to go home, but by the time they reached the orphanage to drop Eriol and Syaoran off, they all (except for Mr. Kinomoto) had something to remind them of this day.

"Ouch! Stop poking me there," Eriol hissed to Syaoran.

"I'm sorry, but it's funny."

"Yeah, well, how's this for funny?" Eriol poked Syaoran's sunburn, and Syaoran bit his lip, trying hard not to make a sound. It really did hurt a lot, but he wasn't going to show it in front of Eriol.

"Poke. Poke. Poke," Eriol taunted, jabbing him several times, grinning. Syaoran holding back with all his might that his eyes were watering.

"Alright, alright! It hurts! Now will you stop?" Syaoran burst, wiping his watery eyes.

Yes, all six kids had sunburns because they forget to put some sunscreen on, but next time, they'll remember, and here ends they're little summer fun (for awhile).

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **Short and lame ending.

I'M SO SORRY THAT IT'S TAKEN ME SOO LONG! NO MATTER WHAT EXCUSES I HAVE, IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

**R&R PLEASE!**


	7. Adoption

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter VII

--Adoption—

Four summers had pass by since their first summer together as friends spent at the lake. This fourth one flew by marking the beginning of Sakura and Tomoyo's start of the sixth grade.

Just like the previous four years, the four would always hang out on the weekends unless the girls were busy with their homework or projects. Today was no exception. It was the first weekend of the school year. The four were going to hang out at mall and have lunch there. Unfortunately, their little get together was going to be postponed.

"I'm enthusiastic! Aren't you?" a navy hair boy smiled. His hair had grown slightly longer, and his face had begun to develop. Syaoran's task of building Eriol was a complete success for he had some muscles and had gotten taller.

"We just saw them last week!" a more muscular built boy bellowed. Syaoran had grown quite a few inches, but he was still taller than Eriol, and like Eriol, his face had matured.

"You think four years could change a person…" Syaoran sent an icy glare at him.

"Though…I must admit, you are a tad nicer then when I first met you," Eriol added, "especially when you're with Sakura."

"What do you mean by that? I don't like her, okay? Better watch what you're saying or else I might spill a little secret out to Tomoyo."

The glasses wearing boy's face went hot, eyeing Syaoran nervously. "Can you do me one favor at least and don't tell her?"

Something in his mind snapped back to his kinder side as he agreed. "Gonna tell her anytime soon though? You've waited since you've first laid eyes on her."

Eriol's mouth formed an 'O' shape to reply, but whether it was fortunately or not, the orphanager director entered the room that the two boys now shared.

"Yes, Mrs. Ewina? Is there something that we can help you with?" Eriol asked politely.

"Well…I don't know how to put this, but might I remind you that this is an orphanage, and there's a couple that would like to meet you. They're around middle age and from what they've described as a child they'd want to adopt, you fit their requirement. I know that Sakura and Tomoyo are coming any moment, but they would really like to meet you," Mrs. Ewina told him twirling her fingers nervously.

Both the teens' orbs widen as they slowly rotated their heads to lock their gaze at each other.

"Will you go meet them?"

"I guess so."

Mrs. Ewina led Eriol downstairs to her office while Syaoran reluctantly lugged his feet to follow them.

'I've occasionally thought about this, but it to actually happen?' Syaoran didn't understand why they picked Eriol out of everyone here. He was unusually a little sad, but what did he expect, them to last as friends? Well, actually in the back, way back of his mind, he hoped that they would last, for once, someone to last in his life.

When they arrived at her office, Syaoran got a glimpse of a dark hair man and woman.

"Syaoran, I know he's your friend, but would you mind?" she hinted, languidly close the door.

"Oh, right."

She closed the door with a snap, but the curiosity inside of him tempted him to lean on the door, his left ear trying to perceive the conversation.

"…is Okamoto-san."

"It's nice to meet you."

"Mrs. Ewina has been telling us that you're one of the smartest kids here."

"I suppose I am…"

"What do you like to do?"

Syaoran never heard his friend's reply for two feminine hands slapped his shoulders, scaring him, making him to leap up.

Sakura and Tomoyo stifled their giggles, sending him an innocent friendly grin.

"What are you doing here? What are you listening to?" Sakura rambled with questions. The auburn girl had grown taller as was beginning on adolescence. Her emerald eyes sparkled just the same as four years ago as well as her hairstyle.

"Where's Eriol?" Tomoyo added. She, just like the others, had gotten taller, and like Sakura, begun adolescence. Her raven hair was longer, ending around her hip.

"Er…" was all that Syaoran could come up with.

"Did something terrible happen to him?" Sakura shouted, clamping a hand over her mouth.

The teen was dumbfounded. No words came out for his brain couldn't comprehend what to say, but he didn't have to say anything. That moment, the door squeaked open, exposing Eriol, Mrs. Ewina, and his new family.

Tomoyo raised an eyebrow as her friend's eyes widen.

"Oh, hello there Sakura, Tomoyo. I'm sure that Syaoran already explained to you what's happened," Mrs. Ewina promptly commented.

"Um, no."

Eriol forced a small smile. "Why don't we head to Syaoran's room? You guys can help me pack if you want."

"Pack..?" Tomoyo repeated slowly.

"Where are you going, Eriol!" Sakura blurted.

"Just follow me to the room and I'll explain."

"We'll stay down here and wait okay, son?" the man said kindly, letting the new unfamiliar word slip from his tongue.

Once at the room, Eriol closed the door, wanting some privacy. Getting straight to the point, he told them, "I'm getting adopted and will be leaving today once I pack."

Syaoran's face revealed no emotion. His bangs went over his dishearten eyes. Eriol quickly noticed his best friend's reaction and added, "But I'll still be here in Tomeoda, just not here at the orphanage anymore. We can still hang out together on the weekends."

"Hey, that means that you'll be going to Tomeoda Middle School with us!" Sakura proclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down.

"That's right! We'll be happy to show your around on your first day, won't we Sakura? We can even eat lunch together!" Tomoyo spoke up, as the auburn hair girl nodded.

While Eriol multitask by listening to the girls' rambling of the school and packing, Syaoran leaned on the wall, one foot on the wall, thinking. What was he going to do now? The others were together while he was left detached from them as if he was any alien, an outsider. Soon, the three would meet and have better friends, ignoring him. All he did was mope, thinking about the future and what might happen.

'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,' Syaoran thought. When his parents died, that should've been the sign for him to be a loner, cold, and mean, but he just had to bend the rules once, and once again, he was hurt. He might as well be a loner, cold, and mean, letting no one in after this that way he wouldn't get hurt anymore.

The moment Eriol finished packing, the two girls were going to follow him downstairs to say 'bye', oblivious to the fact that Syaoran was still there. Being his best friend for a few years, the navy hair teen could never forget Syaoran, and plus, he read his best friend's expression, knowing exactly what he felt.

Walking towards him, he stuck his pale hand out. "Best friends forever, promise?"

Syaoran looked at it in disbelief. Raising an eyebrow in prudence, he was hesitant until his friend uttered, "C'mon. After all we've been through, you seriously think I'll forget you? Besides, no one is as fun to tease as you."

The brown hair teen smirked and forcefully shook his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "Promise."

**XXXXX**

Half the semester had gone by expeditiously and smoothly with no problems. After a few weeks, Syaoran's little depression had gone away when Eriol kept his promise, spilling the juiciest and embarrassing news that happen with the girls or anyone period. Sometimes Sakura or/and Tomoyo would try to hush Eriol from saying anything, but somehow, he always out. Listening to the stories only made him yearn to be able to get adopted and go to school with them.

The somewhat peace and quiet began to shrivel when one weekend, the three non-parentless kids stormed in the Syaoran's room.

"Don't you dare tell him, Eriol!" Sakura bellowed, crossing her arms. Her usual cheerful emerald orbs were currently filled with anger.

Tomoyo was trying to hide behind Sakura. From what Syaoran could see, her face and eyes were a little pink, she, as well, containing icy fiery eyes.

"Why not? He's her friend too!"

"What's going on?" the lost teen shouted, trying to get their attention.

"ERIOL!" both girls roared louder than a lion, causing the floor to tremor a little.

"TOMOYO'S BEING BULLIED!"

**XXXXX**

**Author's Notes:** CLIFFIE! So yeah, I decided to skip 4 years instead of doing something else since I've been asked loads of time 'when will they get older?'. Happy? It'll start to get interesting now, ok?

Short, but in future chapters, I'm sure they'll be longer.

BTW, I think I kind of give up on the –chan, -san, etc. on the kids.

REVIEW PLEASE! I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER/STORY!


	8. The Truth and Feelings Discovered

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter VIII

--The Truth and Feelings Discovered—

"TOMOYO'S BEING BULLIED!"

Syaoran immediately vaulted up from his bed, his hands in two hard fists. "Who's the guy?"

"That's the thing. Neither of them will spill so I don't know."

"Then how'd you know that she was being bullied?"

"At lunch a classmate of Tomoyo came up and said to ignore him. He's just a bully that wants attention."

"So why won't you tell Eriol and didn't want me to find out?" Syaoran turned his attention toward the girls.

"Because…because…I didn't want you guys to worry over me about some stupid little thing," she cried, as Sakura tried to continue comforting her best friend.

"Look, let's forget this whole thing okay? Today's supposed to be fun with no worries. Doesn't do any of us, especially Tomoyo, any good to think about bad things," Eriol added, feeling contrite.

The others agreed, and after a few moments, Tomoyo's regular personality and charm was back.

The four hopped into the limousine and went on to their destination. Today's plan was to go watch a movie and take a stroll around the neighborhood.

The ride to the theater was quiet for they all were on their own thoughts. No one seemed to discern the silence and placidity of the ride or how everyone was concerned with his or her own thoughts, yet it all narrowed down to the same thing—Tomoyo's bully.

The long unnoticeable silent ride was abruptly stopped when the chauffeur opened the door and everyone piled out.

"Why don't you have the rest of the day off, Louie? I'll call you when I need to be pick up," Sakura offered.

"Thank you, and will do. Have a good time."

A dark cloud of gas floated behind them as they faced the theater to see their choices for the day.

"How 'bout we watch something scary with ghosts?" Syaoran spoke up.

Sakura's face became white as a ghost, but luckily only Tomoyo heeded, knowing the reason.

"Let's watch a chick flick!"

"Eww! We watched one the last time!" Both boys' face scrunched up.

"A comedy then?" Eriol suggested.

Syaoran and Tomoyo didn't seem to mind, but when they finally came to Sakura to ask, she wasn't there. Syaoran found her gazing at a big advertisement for a kiddie cartoon movie. "Let's watch this!"

"What! NO! We're not five anymore!" Syaoran roared.

"Please!"

"No! What do guys think?" the brown hair boy interrogated the others.

"Well, as I recall, Sakura hasn't chosen a movie since the first time we've been here so I think it's only fair," a navy hair boy stated.

"Yeah, besides, it looks so cute!" the raven hair girl chirped.

By the looks of it, the amber eye boy was unfortunately outnumbered.

**XXXXX**

A crowd of mostly elementary children jubilantly exited the theater with their parents, chatting on and on how they loved the movie. Even adults and everyone else seem to enjoy it minus one exception. He had his tan arms folded across his chest, his big feet stomping on the cement ground, and his eyes squinted down with anger. If it weren't for his height, everyone would've thought he was a little rebellious grouchy kid.

"C'mon! It wasn't that bad. I enjoyed it!" Eriol said cheerfully.

"I liked it!" Tomoyo added.

"Me too!" the auburn girl agreed.

"I JUST WASTED TWO HOURS OF MY LIFE WATCHING A POINTLESS FILM!"

The little kids around and their parents all heeded their attention toward the fuming teen. The little kids were afraid of Syaoran from his outburst. The older children and parents started whispering about him.

"Heh…heh…Let's leave before we make a bigger scene," Sakura muttered, pushing Syaoran while Eriol and Tomoyo followed them.

It was currently mid-afternoon in the fall air. Even with the sun high above, the cool breeze was a little chilly. Luckily they all had on a jacket so they could walk around the small town. After taking a ten-minute stroll, it was obvious that they were going to window shop because ever store, they would stop in front and point at the display case.

"Aw, isn't that adorable?" Tomoyo pointed out a small statue of a girl bear holding hands with a boy bear.

"Let's go in this store!" Sakura proposed, already entering the store.

Tomoyo happily entered the store, curious to know the price of the statue she had her amethyst eyes on.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Syaoran mumbled to Eriol as they hesitantly follow the girls.

The store was small and filled with lots of old trinkets. It was an antique store. Eriol and Syaoran browsed through the store along with Sakura and Tomoyo, pointing out interesting things.

When Sakura and Tomoyo were in the far back end of the store, Eriol whispered to Syaoran, "I think I'll buy the statue for Tomoyo. What do you think?"

Syaoran raised an amber brow and had a wide malignant grin. "Why are you asking me?"

"I don't know. I wanted to know what you thought maybe, but that's beside the point. Distract the girls while I go buy it," Eriol ordered.

"You trust me? I might accidentally let something slip." Syaoran casually walked toward the back slowly.

Eriol glared at Syaoran's back. "Syaoran!" he hissed.

"Don't worry. I promised ya didn't I?"

Syaoran found Sakura and Tomoyo walking her the front, and instantly he asked, "See anything you like?"

"Yeah. This store is so cool but some of the stuff is expensive," Sakura commented.

"She's right. I hope the statue isn't. I'm going to go ask for the price and maybe buy it, and then we can leave." Tomoyo tried to pass by Syaoran, but he grabbed her by her shoulders and stopped her.

"What are you doing, Syaoran?" Both Sakura and Tomoyo gave him a funny look, but Sakura felt something raging inside of her when she saw how Syaoran was touching Tomoyo.

"Er…"

"And where's Eriol?"

"Er…he's somewhere around here. There's something I wanted to ask you guys about since you have an eye for shopping." Syaoran led Tomoyo somewhere behind the shelves where you couldn't see the front and randomly picked an object.

Emerald eyes sent glares at the two, but she shook her head in confusion. 'Why do I feel like this? It's not like I like Syaoran or anything. I do not like Syaoran in that way. We're juts friends,' she reassured herself.

"So what do you want Syaoran?" The auburn hair girl noticed Tomoyo's disgust expression.

"Er…This." She pointed to a hideous looking…thing. She couldn't tell if it was a doll or a stuff animal. "Don't get it Syaoran."

He was going to bang his head on the wall. Out of all the things, he had to pick that. Eriol better hurry up or else. Like he had telepathy, Eriol popped up.

"Oh, there you are, Eriol." Tomoyo smiled at him, making him blush. "Let's go up front so I can see how much the statue cost."

"I don't want to be a bearer of bad news, but someone has already bought it. I tried to stop her, but she didn't budge," Eriol lied, looking really guilty.

"What? Aw," Tomoyo whined.

"It's okay, Tomoyo. We can look around some more and maybe you'll find something else!" Sakura chirped up, trying to cheer her friend up again.

"You're right! Maybe we can stop by the fabric store so I can get more material to design something for you to model, Sakura!"

Sakura forced a smile and something churned inside of her. "I feel like getting some ice cream."

"Hmm…now that you mentioned it, it sounds pretty nice right about now," Tomoyo agreed.

Something clicked in Eriol, as he blurted, "Why don't we go get some? I'm sure we passed an ice cream store somewhere, and Syaoran and I will pay."

"What?" Syaoran hissed, but Eriol 'accidentally' stomped on his foot. "Ow! I mean, yeah, sure." The brown hair boy sent sparks to his friend.

The four walked to the nearest ice cream parlor. It was crowded even for a cool day. Amber eyes spotted an empty table so they all rushed to go grab it before anyone else could.

"Eriol and I'll go get the ice cream while you two stay here," Syaoran grunted, wanting a word with Eriol.

"What kind of ice cream do you guys want?" Eriol asked.

"Strawberry," Sakura piped immediately.

"Cookies n' Cream."

While the two girls sat together talking and waiting patiently for their ice cream, someone unwelcome popped up.

"Well, well. Look who's here? I see you still have the nerve to show in public with your ugly face and long hair. What's up with the clothes too?" a boy around the girl's age commented, looking disgusted at Tomoyo's jeans with imprints of leaves and vines on the side and her green long sleeve shirt had golden leaves on the edge of the cuffs.

**XXXXX**

Meanwhile with the brown hair boy and navy hair boy, they had already placed their order, paid, and now were waiting for their ice creams.

"You're sure treating this like a double date or something."

"What? Can't we be gentlemen?"

"Hmph. I don't care if I am one or not."

"Now, now. With that kind of attitude, you will never get Sakura or any other girl."

"Eriol, for the friggin' millionth time, I DON'T LIKE HER! And I certainly am not looking for a girl."

"Haha. It's so funny to see you angry. You get so annoyed easily."

"You know what I think is funny? Tomoyo's reaction when she finds out that you like her from me."

Eriol clamped his mouth shut. Once he was with Tomoyo, none of this blackmailing will happen.

"Here's your chocolate, strawberry, cookies n' cream, and vanilla ice cream."

The two each carried two cones and headed back for their table to only find a pink tear stain Tomoyo, a furious red angry Sakura, and a laughing boy who neither of the guys knew. He was a little shorter than Eriol, but still tall enough to scare the girls. His innocent neat light brown hair and blue eyes didn't seem to match his personality.

Syaoran put two and two together. Handing a strawberry cone to Sakura, he asked Tomoyo, "Is this…?"

Eriol who gave her her ice cream saw a small nod, and he felt a beast giving birth, yearning to destroy something. BAM! His tight fist made impact with the light brown hair boy's face. Everyone in the store seem to stop whatever they were doing to stare at the fight.

"What was that for you punk?" He wasn't bleeding yet, but his cheek hurt. He had a feeling that he was going to get a bruise.

"I don't know…maybe it was for making Tomoyo cry?" Eriol snarled, cracking his fingers. Syaoran, Sakura, and Tomoyo all had never seen him act like this, so they were all terrified.

"Don't tell me you like this girl? Defending this…this nobody." BAM! Dark red blood boiled in him.

"HEY! No fighting here! Take it outside!" the owner shouted, kicking the two out while Syaoran followed, muttering 'Stay here,' to the girls.

Outside, Syaoran seized the guy's loose orange shirt and pulled him up so they could meet amber eyes to light blue orbs.

"Listen, don't you dare tease her again or else you'll get some more of what you've already experienced. Yeah we like Tomoyo, we're her friends, and we won't let a little bug like you make her cry."

"Hah, she has friends? Did you guys lose your eyesight? I mean look at her and her ugly long hair and what in the world does she wear?"

Syaoran push the guy into Eriol who instantly held him tightly, sending dark sparks at him.

"Okay, okay." He gave up in fear. "I'll stop bullying her. I promise if you stop this!"

Before Eriol let him go, he inquired, "Tell me one thing first. Why do you make fun of her? I'm sure there are other people you could've chosen so why her?"

A slight pink crept his cheeks, but neither of the other two noticed. "Because I like her."

"You sure have a funny way of showing it." Eriol dropped him to his feet, facing him now.

"I know, but I needed to get her attention somehow. Now that I have, it's just time to apologize and see if she'll like me now."

Eriol felt something else burst inside of him. He had never felt so much emotion at once. Now he felt a green monster inside of him taking control.

"Not if I beat you to it. I declare a war to fight for Tomoyo's heart. Let her decide. We'll anonymously be her secret admirers and it'll go for one week starting Monday. On Friday morning, we'll reveal ourselves and let her decide. Deal?"

"You're on."

**XXXXX**

"I think Eriol likes you," Sakura chimed, grinning.

"Wah? No way. We're just good friends," she lied. In fact, she had fallen for Eriol since they'd first met. Tomoyo felt herself getting hot.

"But Tomoyo, look at the way he's trying to protect you and make you happy," the auburn girl pointed out.

'And if you two get together, I can have Syaoran…wait…where did that come from?

Sakura told herself.

"But you two would make a cute couple!"

"Erg…! I can't hold it in anymore. I like Eriol, okay Sakura? Maybe even love him, but please don't tell him. We're best friends so I expect you to keep this secret!" Tomoyo blurted in a whisper softly.

"Wah? When? How come you didn't tell me this sooner? I thought we are best friends?"

"I know, but I wasn't sure…" Tomoyo began until she saw the Eriol and Syaoran sitting down.

"You weren't sure of what?" Syaoran dumbly asked.

"Eh…I wasn't sure if I wanted to make Sakura's next outfit pink or yellow," Tomoyo made up nervously.

Fortunately, the two guy teens bought it and didn't push it.

"Hey, good news Tomoyo. That scum won't be bothering you anymore," Eriol said brightly. His serene nature was back, and he was smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

"Oh thank you so much, Eriol!" Tomoyo slid over and hugged him unexpectedly to everyone at the table, even Tomoyo herself. Both Eriol and Tomoyo grew red.

"Hey Tomoyo, Eriol, look this way!" Sakura had Tomoyo's camcorder in her hand. They both let go and glared at Sakura.

"What? Tomoyo does it all the time. Why can't I?" Syaoran started laughing.

"Don't you two have something you want to say to each other?" Syaoran commented.

"Wah? No!" Tomoyo stuttered.

"I do." Tomoyo felt her heart racing and her cheeks continue to get redder. 'Oh no…is he…does he…'

"What's the name of the guy that was bullying you?" Eriol asked. Syaoran smacked himself. Tomoyo felt disappointed and her heart crushed. Sakura naively had no clue what to expect.

"Er…His name is Ryu. Ryu Nato."

'Ryu, I shall be victorious.'

"I think we've had enough fun for one day. Why don't we go home?"

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **Woohoo! Another chapter finished! I think Sakura was a little OOC so please forgive me!

Feelings are starting to arise on all of them except for Syaoran. Poor stubborn Syaoran.

**_REVIEW_** PLEASE!


	9. Let the War Begin!

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter IX

--Let the War Begin!—

Monday approached so slowly for the two rivals. Anticipation filled the cool air when Eriol reached the school about half an hour earlier than usual, and the golden sun was already rising. He had unconsciously memorized Tomoyo's locker combination from the beginning of the year.

In his brown backpack, he had wrapped the statue carefully in a purple bag with a little note. The locker smoothly unlatched with a small click. Smiling, the navy hair boy took the bag out and placed it carefully on top of her books. His grin grew wider once he saw the familiar picture of the four when they were younger. Then he slammed the blue locker shut and headed to his class, pretending he was there early to study or get ahead of an assignment.

When the dark eyed teen turned around to head toward his class, he met someone he was hoping not to bump into—Ryu.

"What are you doing here?" Eriol uttered politely through his clenched teeth.

"I could ask you the same question."

"Hmph, that's none of your business."

"Well, what's my business doesn't concern you either," Ryu spat.

"Well, okay."

"Okay," Ryu repeated, but neither of them flinched. Both were staring intensely at the other.

Minutes flew by and neither of them backed down. The hallway began to filter with other students. Some passing by wondered what in the world the two were doing, especially since they were two years apart.

"Good morning Eriol!" A voice broke away the duo's stare. "Eriol, what are you doing here? You're never here this early."

"Good morning, Tomoyo," he replied. Now Ryu wasn't going to be able to do whatever he was planning to do. "I came here to touch up a project and finished early, so I thought I'd meet you and roam the hallways a little before class begins. I figure Sakura's going to be late again."

Tomoyo giggled. "That's Sakura alright. Why do you have your backpack still?" Tomoyo pointed out.

"Er…whoops, looks like I forgot to put it up," he answered lamely, as he wanted to bang his head on a wall for his stupidity.

"Oh, well we have plenty of time left so I can walk with you to yours if you wait," Tomoyo hinted, blushing a little.

'We are friends. Just friends' she repeated, trying to calm herself down. 'It's what something we would do even if I didn't like him.'

"Sure." Eriol could feel his heart racing and anxiety throughout his body. He really wanted to see the girl of his dreams' reaction to when she opened her locker. The process of turning at a precise number seemed to last forever as if he was in a slow motion world. Finally, he heard the click ring in one ear and out the other and immediately sent his gaze to Tomoyo's face.

"What is this…?" she mumbled, taking the bag and opening it where her amethyst orbs augmented. "Why this is the statue that I saw at the antique, and there's a note with this!"

It read:

I hope you like it.

heartFrom your Secret Admirer heart

"Eriol, did you see who bought this when we were at the antique store?" Tomoyo quickly interrogated. Curiosity and questions ran through her mind.

'Oh shoot, how do I answer this? I wasn't expecting this.' Eriol felt like banging his head on the wall again.

"Um…yeah, it was a girl, remember? I thought I told you," he responded lamely, trying to keep a cool head.

"Oh…" Tomoyo uttered sadly. Her heart felt something pang inside of her. It was hoping it was Eriol and there was no point in denying that that it was most likely not him. Eriol wouldn't lie to her.

"Oh, don't feel too bad. I'm sure the guy will reveal himself sooner or later!" The glasses wearing teen noticed the dishearten expression and that was the only thing he could say to cheer her up.

"Yeah…I guess so…" The raven hair girl really didn't want to know who it was if it wasn't Eriol. How was she going to respond to some guy that she didn't like? What if it was some guy friend and she broke his feelings?

After the two went from Tomoyo's locker to Eriol's locker, Tomoyo decided to go her to classroom. When she entered her classroom, most of the people were crowding around at something, but she didn't really take heed until she walked toward it because it was her desk.

"Tomoyo! It looks like you have a secret admirer!" someone shouted.

"Wah? How do you know?" It wasn't until the crowd made way for Tomoyo until she got to behold a box of chocolate with a note on it. Unlike the other note, this note said 'You're sweet as this box of chocolate. From your secret admirer'.

'Another one?' she inquired herself. She couldn't wait until Sakura came or more luckily lunch so she could tell her and Eriol the news.

"Did any of you see who put this here?" Tomoyo asked without thinking.

Everyone muttered 'no' or shook their heads.

'So that must mean that whoever placed it here must've came early.' Tomoyo really wished to find out who the secret admirer is. 'Eriol!' popped into her head. How in love was she with him? 'But he was here early…' a part of her brain echoed. Unfortunately, Sakura tumbled in.

"Am I late?"

"No Sakura, but I have something important to tell you!"

"Re—"

"Everyone in their respective seats!" the teacher ordered.

Tomoyo shot Sakura a 'I'm sorry, but I'll tell you later' look.

**XXXXX**

Lunch came by leisurely. For once, the raven hair girl felt her mind drift away from the essence of the classroom and to another world. Fortunately for her, the lecture wasn't so important, and sleep didn't hit her so she was able to keep her 'I'm awake and listening' face on.

At the lunch table, Eriol was already sitting at their regular table, munching on his noodles he'd bought in line.

The moment Sakura sat down, she immediately blurted with tumult, "Okay, Eriol's here. _Now_ can you tell me?"

"'ell 'er wat?" the navy hair teen mumbled inquisitively through the noodles in his mouth.

Tomoyo took out the two little gifts that the secret admirer had given her and began to reiterate her story at the beginning of when she and Eriol were at her locker to when she walked to her desk.

When Tomoyo was reiterating her tale, Sakura looked at the note and gifts. Eriol played along and beguiled that he was interested.

"Tomoyo," the emerald eye girl started once Tomoyo finished and began eating, "are you sure you just have _one_ secret admirer?"

"Huh? Yeah, I mean why would I have two?" Amethyst eyes evinced no comprehension to what her friend was implying, as an eyebrow rose up.

"Well, the signature is kinda different…"

"What do you mean? It's typed. How can you tell?"

Eriol realized what Sakura was trying to say and intervened. "Well, the note that you got with the statue hearted both sides of bottom line. Plus, whoever the guy is, he capitalized 'secret admirer'."

"Plus the fonts are different!" Sakura added.

"Wah? Ihavetwo!" Tomoyo shouted, running the two sentences together for one jumble mess. The part of the cafeteria that heard the outburst all looked at Tomoyo, wondering what she was yelling about. "But how? I mean I'm not pretty like Sakura or smart like Naoko."

"What are you talking about? You're pretty and smart, and you have a pretty singing voice!" Sakura attested, crossing her arms. "And I'm not pretty, crazy Tomoyo. I don't see two guys going after me."

"That's because the guys here are idiots that can't see that," Tomoyo retorted, trying to change the subject.

Eriol wasn't sure whether he should say something or not. And the last comment from Tomoyo, he thought he should keep his mouth shut and continued to pretend he was more interest in the food than the conversation. Of course just when he thought things couldn't get worse, the scum was at the table.

"What are you doing here? Go back to your own table!" Eriol snarled viciously with a hinge of wonder.

"Chill dude, I just wanted to come and apologize, okay?" Ryu turned to face Tomoyo. With a contrite mien and a sincere apologetic voice, he uttered, "Look, I'm really really one hundred times sorry for making fun of you."

Tomoyo blinked a few times trying to calculate what her ex-bully just said. "Apology accepted." With that, she turned around and chatted with Sakura.

"Tough luck," Eriol murmured so that only Ryu could here with a slight smirk slipping on his face.

**XXXXX**

The day of discovers for a certain girl ended with anticipation for the next day and the next day. When will they expose themselves so she may know? But then that would mean she would have to choose one or neither. All she yearned was the one of them was Eriol, but by his interests today, she knew in the back of her head that he probably wasn't one of the two.

With a sullen face, she headed home.

**XXXXX**

Four wonderful days pass by her tediously and today was the day when she was going to find out her secret admirers.

On day two, she had found a charming poem and red rose in her locker and the same sweet note and a light brown bear holding a pencil on her desk from the respective person.

The poem said:

Knowing that you're here makes me wake up everyday  
Your lovely cheerful face is a price that no one can pay  
Those luscious lips form a smile  
And no matter how far we are, I'll run miles and miles  
Your amethyst beautiful orbs gleam in light  
That is something that will make my gloomy days bright  
Lastly, your melodious voice is a song  
Hearing it ring gently in my ear I long

heartFrom your Secret Admirer heart

And the note had:

I accidentally took your pencil once. It was the first time when we first met and so I've kept it and in return, give you a pencil so that when I first reveal myself, you can have something to remember me. The bear is to show how cute is it and multiply it by ten, that's now cute you are.

From your secret admirer

She had to concede that they both were kind of cheesy and corny, but they were sweet.

On Wednesday, the locker secret admirer gave her a bracelet with a single silver charm of a heart with a note. The desk one spoiled her with stuff puppy and another note.

Thursday arrived and Tomoyo began feeling contrite over all the items she was receiving. The notes were fine, but the statue, chocolate, bear, bracelet, puppy, and now candy (in the locker) and a CD with her favorite song (on the desk). Luckily for her, both of the notes said that they would reveal themselves tomorrow morning in front of her locker. One note said she would have to choose one of them as if it was some contest or something, yet the two seem to know about this so could it possibly one?

With mixed emotions stirring inside of her, she headed home and packed two bags, each with the respective gifts she had received. The notes on the other, she decided to keep.

**XXXXX**

Tomoyo couldn't sleep soundlessly that night. She was too excited and anxious. All throughout the day, her mind kept on wondering if Eriol was one of them. Every day, he didn't show any emotion or any particular expression about it.

The raven hair girl quickly went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and hair, and dressed. Unfortunately, she was still early so there was no excuse to skip breakfast as she stared aimlessly at the ticking clock. The seconds seemed to go slower than usual as if the batteries were going to perish soon. Still even after munching on her breakfast, she was still early, but waiting at the house didn't seem to help so she figured she might as well get there early and go over what she would do.

If she both didn't like them, then she would feel horrible and apologize and give them their stuff back. If she liked one of them, then she would return one bag to its rightful owner, apologize, and for the other one, she would be happy with him…hopefully. If she both like them (which the chances were slim), then that would just be terrible to choice between, but how many guys that she like did she know that would actually like her?

For once in that morning, time flew by fast. Her feet were walking at her steady normal rate and the familiar school grounds of her middle school appeared. Glancing at the time, it seemed like walking to school early paid off because she arrived roughly on time when she was suppose to meet the guys at her locker.

Nonchalantly, the amethyst-eyed girl entered the school and almost forgot why she was there so early until her eyes heard arguing.

"She's going to pick me, man!" one vaguely familiar voice rang through the wide hallway.

"How do you know?" a more familiar voice echoed the hallway.

"Because I like her and my gifts to her were so much better."

"Gifts have nothing to do with winning a girl's heart. It's love, and I've loved her ever since I laid eyes on her."

"ERIOL! Ryu?" Tomoyo's amethyst eyes went round and big. The last sentence reiterated in her mind.

'It's love, and I've loved her ever since I laid eyes on her.'

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **Egh…sorry about skipping so much in the week. I kinda got writer's block on how to have so much romantic stuff and have more in the future chapters. Of course the future ones will be in more detail because it's going to be Syaoran and Sakura.

So the SS moments will be happening soonn. PROMISE! Just gotta have ET have their moment first. The rest shall be SS.

The heart thing was supposed to be shift comma 3. It makes a heart. (lesser than sign and 3), but I couldn't do the lesser sign so yeah.

**_REVIEW_** because I'm updating a lot faster than when it was school season. The more people I know that read this and like it, it'll give me strength to write. Criticism is welcome! 

I'M GONNA BE GONNA BE GONE FROM **JULY 14-JULY 23 **SO THAT MEANS** NO UPDATE 'TIL THE 23RD OR 24TH. **I'M JUST ASKING FOR** AT LEAST10 REVIEWS **FOR THIS CHAPTER AND I'LL** UPDATE ON JULY 13 OR 14.**


	10. I Choose You!

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter X

--I Choose You—

'It's love, and I've loved her ever since I laid eyes on her.' Those words recurred running through her mind.

"Tomoyo," both boys uttered. Both had their eyes gazing at the girl in front of them, waiting to hear the choice.

Tomoyo blinked for a moment and recalled the whole scene before that line. With the note from yesterday and this episode, she wasn't sure how she felt anymore.

"What is this? Some kind of prank?" Tomoyo began steaming. "A silly little contest to see who was better?"

"T-Tomoyo…what are you talking about?" Eriol stammered, trying to cool down the girl.

Before Tomoyo could get another word out, Eriol continued, "You did hear Ryu and me arguing right? About how much we like you…"

"Yeah, I mean when I first told Eriol that I liked you and I was going to ask you out one day, he got jealous so he declared a little contest."

"It was your idea, Eriol?" Tomoyo snapped at him, now unaware why. The guy of her dreams loved her, but the anger in the little contest rode above. "Why?"

"Uh…" Eriol gulped. "Becau—"

The furious raven hair girl cut in. "Why? If you say you loved me since you've met me, why make it into a contest on as to who I would pick?" Her lovely amethyst orbs were red and watery. "Why didn't you come out and say it? Even if some guy did beat you to me, can't you trust love?"

"Uh, hello, forgetting someone?" Ryu butted in a little terrified of Tomoyo now. He seemed to be losing his attraction to her by the second.

"Tomoyo, what do you mean?" Eriol, one of the smartest guys in his grade, asked in perplexity, taking a bold step toward her.

Small droplets of salty liquid began dripping down the girl's now pink face. "I LOVE YOU, STUPID! I've fallen in love with you!"

The words rang in his head as he took another step, this time close enough to pull her in to a hug. Both were blushing, but neither cared because the one that they loved was right next to him or her. Eriol muttered some calming words to his love. She was his now, right? His Tomoyo. It sounded strange, yet he liked it.

The empty long corridor was starting to cease as a few noisy students came in so the new couple pushed from each other, still blushing.

"So…we're…?"

"Yeah, but Ryu!"

"Looks like he left. Sorry about upsetting you."

"No, no. I was just overreacting. I guess I'll have to give him back his stuff," Tomoyo stated. Her eyes were returning to normal amethyst. "Which one is yours?" she asked, pointing to the two bags.

Eriol pointed to the pink bag, the one farthest from Tomoyo. "So you're the locker admirer."

"What?"

"Well, I kept on getting things from you in my locker and the same with Ryu except on my desk so I called you the locker admirer and Ryu the desk admirer."

Tomoyo then shifted her attention to the pink bag and looked through it to take out the silver bracelet with the single heart. She tried to put it on herself, but after struggling for awhile, Eriol took it in his hands and clasped it together.

"Thanks," Tomoyo muttered kindly. "Thanks for everything; the notes, the gifts. They were all really sweet and lovely. Oh and did you lied to me about the person that bought the statue?"

"Er…yeah, but I didn't want you to know so soon. Besides, I wasn't sure how to tell you and stuff." Eriol's gaze landed to the floor, not wanting to look up at Tomoyo.

"Hohoho, wait 'til Sakura hears about this!" Tomoyo added.

"I think I'll stick to telling Syaoran."

"Speaking of them, don't you think that Sakura and Syaoran would make a cute couple?" Tomoyo changed the subject, her eyes now gleaming with a mischievous look.

"Tomoyo, what are you thinking?" Eriol inquired, his voice hinting a want of participation. "If you want to hook them up, I will gladly help."

"Really?" Tomoyo's eyes widen to big round plates. "I knew there's a reason why I love you."

"I've been teasing Syaoran for awhile now so I think it's time to take it to the next level."

"Hmm…well Sakura's too dense to realize if she likes someone, much less know if someone likes her."

"Let's start planning," Eriol said with a big smirk.

"And one day, I'll get to tape Sakura's confession or something," Tomoyo added, sighing happily. "Today is one of the best days of my life."

**XXXXX**

The loud usual bell rang to dismiss the end of the school day. It was a sunny warm autumn afternoon. By after school that day, basically everyone in Tomoyo's classes and Eriol's classes knew that the two were going out.

When the couple and Sakura met after school at the old green gates in front of the old building, some guys teased Eriol and Tomoyo when the passed them in their own group. Of course the two instantly blushed since they weren't used to this just yet.

Sakura, feeling a little left out kind of drowned into the depths of her own thoughts. Eriol was with Tomoyo, which meant Syaoran was safe and sound from Tomoyo, giving her the edge…the edge on what? Her mind raced with mixed confused emotions. Syaoran was her friend just like Tomoyo and Eriol so why was she thinking such strange thoughts lately? She was happy for her two close friends, honestly, but she won't lie, Sakura felt a pang in her heart.

"…Sakura….Earth to Sakura, can you hear me?" Eriol waved a hand in front of her.

Sakura blinked. "Huh?"

"We were saying, we should visit Syaoran today and tell him. It isn't fair that he's our friend and doesn't find out today," Tomoyo repeated, grinning malignantly, but Sakura didn't notice.

"Uh…sure. I'll just call home so no one will worry."

While Sakura was dialing, Eriol and Tomoyo were whispering happily to each other a few feet away from the auburn hair girl behind a couple of bushes with Sakura's back facing them.

"Let Operation Sakura and Syaoran like each other, love each other, and get together commence," Tomoyo muttered excitedly that she almost shouted.

"That's a tad long, don't you think Tomoyo?" Eriol remarked. "How about Operation Setup Sakura and Syaoran?"

Tomoyo pouted but had to succumb.

"What are you two talking about?" Sakura questioned, walking towards them. "It seemed like you two were having a private conversation."

"It's nothing Sakura," Eriol uttered.

"Then why were you two talking behind a bush?"

"He's right. We're just talking about our first date for sometime," Tomoyo chirped as pink crept on her cheeks.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go give Syaoran a surprise visit!" Eriol changed the subject.

**XXXXX**

An amber hair teen was casually watching TV in the wore-down living room, the only place with a TV. A television, couch, coffee table, couple of chairs, and a radio filled the entire room. The only decorations in the white crayoned room were the curtains, a rug, and some plants. The television screen wasn't large but wasn't small and it had rundown antennas that looked like it was going to fall any second. He sat comfortably on an old donated couch, gazing at the screen without blinking as if he was a zombie. The black remote had buttons that didn't function when you pressed on it so everyone had to walk up and change the channel, but only the power button worked.

After all these years, even becoming nicer a little, the other housemates were all terrified of him so no one was in the room watching though some peered slyly into the room to catch and hear a glimpse here and there. Though Syaoran felt really bad, he didn't say or show any emotion because he enjoyed the silence except the noise emitting from the television.

"Guess who?" a cheery, very familiar voice rang in his ears as the person's hands went over his eyes.

"Sakura."

"You win." Sakura took her hands off and Syaoran's zombie expression hadn't changed much as he gazed at her, which the girl instantly blushed. Tomoyo and Eriol came up behind her.

"Why are you guys here?" he spat. "Seeing you once a week is enough."

"We wanted to tell you something," Tomoyo spoke up.

"Well what is it?" Syaoran asked hastily, closing the TV. "What's so important that you guys are coming here after school on a Friday for?"

"I won the contest," Eriol said simply.

"And you couldn't wait to tell me this tomorrow?"

"_He_ knew about the little contest too?" Tomoyo sent a glare at Eriol as her voice raised.

"Well…he…there…friend…" Eriol stammered, scooting back away from the boiled girl.

"Umm…guys, maybe we should go somewhere else where no one is eavesdropping?" Sakura piped up, nervously looking at the other orphans.

"Fine." So they all headed up to Syaoran's room. Half of the room was still vacant ever since Eriol left, making the room look bigger than it really was. Syaoran had been assigned many different roommates, but none had worked out, protesting on his inert attitude that terrified everyone.

"To make it easy for your simple mind to comprehend, Tomoyo and I are going out," Eriol stated once the door closed.

"Congrats man! Anything else?" Syaoran snapped.

"Well aren't you in a grouchy mood," Eriol commented, as the amber eye teen sent a cold glower.

"Actually there is…" Tomoyo added.

"Really? What is it?" Sakura's eyes widen, curious to know what it was that she hadn't known yet.

"We were hoping that you two wouldn't mind if we went on a date tomorrow instead of hanging out together. You and Sakura can continue hang out though," Tomoyo said straight to the point, an evil glint in her amethyst orbs as she put her hands before her back.

"But it's always been the four of us," Sakura pouted.

Syaoran didn't say anything but raised an eyebrow at Eriol who was giving him a pleading look.

"Fine," Syaoran said. "I don't mind, but you can't do this every time."

"We promise."

"I guess I don't mind either, but you have to tell me all about your date when you come back Tomoyo!" Sakura ordered.

Tomoyo giggled. "Alright Sakura, alright."

In both the new couple's mind, only one thing was established, 'Operation Setup Sakura and Syaoran plan A a success!'

"Sorry to cut our little visit short, but Tomoyo and I want to talk about our plan for tomorrow so we'll see you two later," Eriol smirked, leaving the room was Tomoyo following.

"I can't believe they actually agreed!" Tomoyo whispered excitedly. "I wonder what they're talking about right now."

"Me too, but by the looks of things, probably not much. Syaoran's Syaoran."

"True, but that's why we're gonna make him fall in love with her! Hohoho."

"Well, let it unravel because I think we need to talk about our date and spying on the two," Eriol grinned.

Back with the other two….

"Syaoran," Sakura said innocently. "Do you feel left out?"

"What do you mean?" His grouchy mood seemed to disappear for some odd reason that he couldn't explain. Syaoran stared at the unusual dishearten Sakura, who was sitting down on the other side of the room on the ragged mattress.

"Well, Tomoyo and Eriol are together, and sooner or later, they'll be together a lot more often. Then one day, you're going to leave for someone. Then I'll be left alone," Sakura muttered sadly, not looking at Syaoran's gaze.

Somehow seeing Sakura sad didn't settle with Syaoran. Sure the hyper cheerfulness was annoying, but it suited her better. He strangely enough, didn't like to see her like this. "Are you kidding me? You think you're going to be left alone? Let's switch this. You'll be leaving for someone and I'll be left alone."

Sakura's disconcerted face gawked at Syaoran. "It took me awhile to become your friend and it'll probably take even longer for someone to like me and don't forget I have to like her also. All the kids here are afraid of me so the chances of me leaving for some girl is slim."

"You could change," Sakura mumbled.

"I won't. You'll be happy with some guy and forget all about me," Syaoran stated. In his heart, he felt a singe of disappoint but shook it off.

"I won't forget you!" Sakura argued. "You're one of my best friends."

"For now," Syaoran retorted.

"No! Forever. You, Tomoyo, Eriol, and I are going to be best friends forever no matter what happens!"

"Listen, if family doesn't last forever neither will friendships." Syaoran felt his grouchy mood return with twice the strength. Who was this girl that was going to test him on friendship?

"I'll prove it!" the auburn hair girl said determinedly.

"I'd like to see you try!"

"I will, and it'll start tomorrow when I'll be here at the usual time. Each day passing by is just adding up to another year," Sakura huffed off, slamming his door on the way out.

Sakura was out of the orphanage in ten seconds flat. 'Argh! He's so frustrating sometimes. I hope he's not too mad at me, but I will show him that friendships can last forever.' She stomped all of the way home, half angry and frustrated at Syaoran and half worried that he was mad at her.

Syaoran on the other hand was grinning on his bed. He would like someone to prove him wrong about his theory because he wanted to feel happy again like he did before this chapter of his life began. Convinced that he had changed and grown a lot inside, he had a feeling meeting Eriol, Sakura, and Tomoyo was just the beginning to life besides friendship.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note:** Hmm…this was unexpected, stinky, lousy for me. This whole chapter. Oh well, just means a tad bit longer story for the readers, eh?

Since it sucked and I got over 10 GREAT, VERY NICE reviews (which I thank very much and gratefully), soI posted 2 chapters! Click on the lovely purple next button to continue!

Review for this chappie if you want!


	11. The 'Date'

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter XI

--The 'Date'—

At promptly one o' clock, an emerald-eyed girl arrived at the only orphanage in all of Tomoeda. She had spent quite some time contemplating on an event to do this week yesterday but nothing seemed right until she told her doting father about her dilemma. An infamous grin plopped on Sakura's face as she thought about the place that they were going to go, thanking her father excessively in her head.

Today was a beautiful, chilly breezy autumn day. The trees were beginning to lose the orange, red, and yellow fiery color leaves as a strong wind passed by, loosening the leaves that barely clutched onto the brown, stern branches. The sun was shining proudly down, casting small shadows as one of them was moving towards Sakura.

"Ready to prove me wrong?" the messy brown hair teen smirked disdainfully. He was wearing already used jeans, a white shirt, and a green coat to keep him warm. On his feet were some matching green and white shoes.

"Yup!" Sakura chirped, as her smile grew bigger, flashing her white teeth. She too was wearing jeans but had on a light pink long sleeved shirt that had a dark pink star in the middle with a white jacket over. Her auburn hair was in its predictable pigtails with the cherry blossom clip from four years ago.

"Limo today?" Syaoran commented, his gaze glimpsing at the shiny black limo behind her.

"Yeah, we're gonna be going somewhere a little far today. It's on the other side of town," she explained.

"What's on the other side of town?" Yes, Syaoran had lived here for over five years, going to all these different places of town, knowing most of this side of Tomoeda. He had never thought about the other side but now he was going to learn.

"That's downtown Tomoeda."

"What are we doing there?"

"You'll see," Sakura gave a shifty grin with determine eyes.

'Oh boy.' Syaoran rolled his amber eyes, following his friend to the limousine.

Behind a row of forest green bushes that surrounded the front of the orphanage, four eyes and lens gaped at the black limousine driving away from their sight.

A raven hair girl put the camcorder down from her amethyst eye still but still clutched it. She wore a white long sleeve shirt under a thick black jacket and a dark purple knee-length skirt. A navy hair boy placed a compassionate hand on the girl's free pale hand. He was wearing khaki pants, blue shirt, and a long light brown trench coat.

"So what do we do now?"

"I wasn't expecting this since we haven't used Sakura's limousine at all this year," Tomoyo thought out loud. "I know I can get my limousine to pick us up, but I don't think they can follow Sakura and Syaoran now."

"We've been walking or using Sakura's limousine that I completely forgot," Eriol's dark blue eyes widen at the fact. Neither he nor Syaoran knew much about Tomoyo's family did they except that her mom owned a toy company and was rich?

"Yup," the girl uttered, dialing on her phone. "Why don't we go my mother's company since we really can't follow Sakura and Syaoran? I'll call her. Plus, she wants to meet this mysterious guy I'm dating."

Eriol blinked and managed a small 'Okay'.

In a quarter of an hour, another black limousine arrived on the street where the orphanage was. Eriol contemplated on the dark tinted glass and thought he saw movement inside since he wasn't able to tell since the glare of the sun blocked his view. He was about to reach for the silver handle to open the door for Tomoyo, but Tomoyo held him back telling him to wait.

The black door opened revealing about four long dark hair women in dark business suits and shades just like a few years ago.

"They're my bodyguards, remember," Tomoyo reminded, entering the limousine. He entered the limo and they drove off in a long precarious silence because it was awkward to talk casually with bodyguards around.

**XXXXX**

"We're at Daidouji Company?" Syaoran questioned, raising a skeptical eyebrow once the two stepped to the street. Downtown was piled with a few big buildings, the major companies that loved Tomoeda for it's peace and not city-like. Where the two were at, the amber eye teen couldn't tell if there were nice little shops or restaurants around because Daidouji seemed to be in the middle of the big buildings. "Daidouji…is this somehow related to Tomoyo?"

"Yup. The owner is Tomoyo's mom who happened to be my mom's cousin," Sakura explained happily. "That's how Tomoyo and I are cousins."

'That's right…she told us once a long time ago,' Syaoran told himself.

"And why are we here?" Syaoran asked once more, wondering how a company was going to be fun and prove him wrong.

"The company makes toys," Sakura uttered simply. Syaoran simply nodded as curiosity rose in him, wondering what she had in store for him. "Auntie Sonomi is waiting for us."

The emerald eye girl clutched the amber orb boy by the wrist and led him in the building. Once inside the company's lobby, Syaoran gawked at this new surrounding. A fairly large maple desk stood in the left side of a spiraling marble, freshly clean staircase, which was in the center of the building. On the right side of the staircase lied nice leather couches and chairs around a rectangular table with magazines sprawled around. Fresh green plants and paintings decorated some areas in the first floor to give it a homey feel.

Now regaining his conscious back, Syaoran found himself at the desk with a sign about them saying 'Information Center'.

"Good afternoon, Miss Kinomoto. We're expecting you," a tall lady with fine dark hair said.

"Good afternoon. So is my aunt free at the moment?" Sakura inquired politely with a grin.

"I'm pretty sure, but let me call and check."

The two waited for a few minutes while the receptionist made a few calls on a black telephone.

"Miss Daidouji is free right now. She said she's going to come down and meet you so just wait over right here," the receptionist replied grinning back to the two. "So is this you're boyfriend, Miss Kinomoto?"

Both Syaoran and Sakura immediately blushed and then realized that Sakura still held his wrist and let go.

"We're not—" Sakura began nervously.

"You're kidding right? Why in the world would you think that?" Syaoran spat sternly, ignoring the fact that he was being rude. "Mind your business."

"Syaoran," Sakura shot him an anger glare. "Be polite." Turning back to the woman, Sakura bowed and apologized for her friend's behavior.

"I'm sorry," Syaoran gave a half bow and grunted.

"It's alright. I need to learn to keep my thoughts to myself. I get it all the time," the receptionist smiled returning to her work.

"Sakura?" a light voice rang in the lobby followed by the clacking of her high heel shoes.

"Auntie Sonomi!" Sakura rushed to hug her tightly. The owner of Daidouji Co. was a tall woman with light brown hair styled as a short boyish cut. Her round brown eyes gazed lovingly at Sakura. "Auntie, this is Syaoran. Syaoran, Sonomi Daidouji."

Syaoran bowed politely to Sonomi.

"So did dad tell you why I'm here?"

Sonomi's eyes narrowed at the mention of the mayor. "Yeah…he mentioned something about doing him a favor for you. He said you'd tell me once you get here. So what is it?"

Sakura stood on her tiptoes and whispered something in her aunt's ear so that it wasn't audible for Syaoran to hear.

"Oh, I see." Sonomi had a sly grin plastered on her face, one that Tomoyo undoubtingly took. "Well, why I don't I give your little friend a tour first?"

"Sure thing."

The tour around the building was half-boring and half-interesting. The place where people sat around in desks and cubicles was a waste of time, but the part where different toys were made, distributed, or created were interesting. By the time the last part of the tour arrived (the secret room), Sonomi got a call on her phone.

"Hello? Yes, dear. Sakura and her friend are here, and I'm giving them a little tour. You can come to the secret room. We're going to be outside waiting for you. Did you bring your boyfriend? Good. I'll see you in a few."

"Auntie?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Looks like Tomoyo and her boyfriend are finally here. I mentioned that Tomoyo called and asked to come, right?" Sonomi closed her phone and stuffed it back into her jacket pocket.

"No…" Sakura replied while Syaoran shook his head.

"Oh, whoops. Sorry. Do you know Tomoyo's boyfriend, Sakura, Syaoran?"

**XXXXX**

"This is really big!" Eriol said softly to Tomoyo, his dark blue eyes narrowed as they walked through the building and to the back where the storage room was.

"Well, it's small compared to other really big well-known ones," Tomoyo insisted, leading the way, passing the second set of glass doors at the back and turning left toward big gray metal garage doors for trucks to come.

"Haha, I get to see this before Syaoran," Eriol shouted happily so that he could rub it in his face.

"I bet he has seen it." Tomoyo flashed an 'I know something you don't know' grin.

"What? You've showed him before me?" Eriol burst, a green-eyed monster raged inside of him.

"Actually…just look for yourself." Tomoyo pointed over to where a tall woman stood with two other people roughly around their age.

"Sakura and Syaoran are here?" he whispered excitedly.

"Yup! Mother told me just now." Tomoyo whipped out her infamous camcorder and started taping. "Hey, Sakura, Syaoran!" Tomoyo waved.

"Hey Tomoyo!" Syaoran shouted back, as she and Eriol made their way towards them.

"Hello Mom. Thanks for taking time off for us," Tomoyo smiled.

"No trouble, it's not everyday my daughter, her boyfriend, whom you haven't introduced yet, my niece, and her friend comes to visit me."

A splash of red crept on her cheeks as Tomoyo looked down to her feet for a few moments hearing the word 'boyfriend'. "Mom, this is Eriol Hiiragizawa. Eriol, this is my mom."

Eriol gave her a low respective bow. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Oh, he's so polite. You have a great catch, Tomoyo," Sonomi muttered under her breath to her daughter so that only she could hear.

The amethyst girl's blush immediately grew redder.

"So can we go into the secret room yet?" Syaoran was on the edge of his feet, curious as to what was inside the room. A million possibilities few around his head. What if it had the best video games ever invented or some kiddy games that was going to the market soon? The boy scrunched his nose at the thought of some kiddy game to be in a secret room.

"Of course," Sonomi replied, taking the silver master key out and placing it in the lock. Click! The door was unlocked and the owner opened the door wide to let the kids go in.

Syaoran and Eriol took one look at the room and awed at the room filled with different toys ranging from yes kiddy toys to video games. He had never seen so many of them in his life and there were adults playing with them, trying to make little corrections. The big white room was covered with shelves, desks, tables, TVs, controllers, chairs, and etc. The floor was cemented just in case any explosions happened.

"This is the testing room. We don't want spies from other companies to know about this, now do we?" the boyish cut hair woman winked at them. "Would you guys like to try some games?"

Eriol and Syaoran furiously nodded their heads over and over.

"OK, just let me give the workers a few words and they'll tell you what to do." Sonomi left the four kids alone for awhile.

"Wow…" was all Syaoran could say.

"Syaoran, better close your mouth. You don't want to start drooling now," Eriol teased, nudging him on the side.

Amber orbs fired over to the other boy.

"I'm glad you two are enjoying this," Tomoyo uttered sweetly.

"It's not everyday you get to mess around with never released games," Syaoran remarked, glimpsing around to see what he would try first.

Sakura stood with an all-knowing grin about her little plan. She knew she could never really prove Syaoran wrong with things, but she had another thing in mind.

"Okay Syaoran, Eriol, you two can go with Nato and Okamoto to look around and test some things." Sonomi pointed to the two tall women next to her wearing long white coat labs with their names printed on their coats.

The two boys immediately left to play, leaving Sonomi with the two girls. "What do you two girls want to do?"

"Can we go sit on the bean bag chairs!" Sakura shouted with joy, jumping up and down cheerfully.

"Sure. I have some business to do first, but when I come back, would you four like to go to this little bakery a couple of streets down? It has the best cake," Tomoyo's mother insisted.

"Thank you so much!" Sakura smiled.

"That would be great, Mom," Tomoyo grinned also.

"I'll see you later then. Bye."

"Bye Auntie Sonomi."

"Bye Mom."

So the two girls animatedly sat on a pink or purple beanbag chair in the corner of the room talking about girl things but after awhile, decided to go join Syaoran and Eriol and have some fun.

After about an hour and a half, Sonomi returned to the testing room to see all three kids laughing while one was covered in black smoke from head to toe. 

"What happened?" Tomoyo's mom rushed toward the black soot face Syaoran.

"Haha," Eriol sniggered, trying to calm down to explain. "He insisted to try the virtual reality game first, and Nato informed us that it was only the first model, but the idiot wanted to still."

Tomoyo decided to continue for Eriol while taping the whole thing with her camcorder in her right hand, "And Syaoran played. After five minutes, the game kind of…"

"Exploded," Sakura finished, stifling her laugh.

"Oh no, I thought I told them not to let you guys try that out," Sonomi said concernedly, glancing around to find the two women, ready to reprimand them.

"It was my fault. I'm sorry Ms. Daidouji," the messy brown and now black hair boy uttered sincerely, bowing to her as some soot began to fly off.

Sonomi let out a long exasperated sigh, placing a hand to her head and shaking it. "Let's get you a little clean off before we head to the bakery."

"Okay!" the four of them chimed contentedly.

One of the workers in the white lab coats handed Syaoran a black towel to wipe as much black soot off of him as possible. He headed out to the garage section and took of his tennis shoes and socks and then shook his arms and legs to see how much could come off outside. Next he took the towel to scrub whatever was left that he could. Finally, only his hair left, his head faced the ground as he shook it and made his messy brown hair even messier.

In five minutes, he was cleaner, but he still had some stained black spots.

Finally, the four and Sonomi walked down two streets from the company in the surprisingly clean long, thick sidewalks with small trees losing its leaves here and there. Copious cars of various colors and styles settled next to the sidewalks. Only a few cars passed by them during the whole promenade. Their destination arrived at a decent sized shop called 'Sweet Shop' in pink, yellow, green, and black. The windows had eye-catching phrases in the Easter colors along with lots of fresh cakes, cookies, and sweets in front.

Because of the clean shine on the windows, you could see display cases full of more delicious, mouth-watering treats as well as an old register, and cute decorated tables and matching chairs.

"Hey, this one looks good, doesn't it Tomoyo?" Sakura ogled at a vanilla cake oozed in rich creamy chocolate and strawberries even spread out on the top.

"That looks delicious," her second cousin retorted.

"Look at that one!" Syaoran was drooling over a three layer triple chocolate cake with white chocolate icings decorating the top.

"I'd prefer those peanut butter cookies," Eriol piped up. They weren't normal small peanut butter cookies but big, big as half your face big and the peanut butter chunks seemed to be freshly homemade too.

Sonomi had a grin on her face to see the kids excited as she ushered them in. Each of them picked a slice or piece that they wanted and sat at a table together, nibbling and savoring each bite to make it last longer while having some tea.

"Aw, that was the best piece of cake I have ever had! I need to tell Daddy about this place," the auburn hair girl sighed once her plate was finished, spotless minus for a few crumbs.

Syaoran's mouth longed for more of the chocolate that the store made. "Cake? This was the best chocolate thing I've ever had!"

"All you can think about is chocolate, huh?" Eriol pointed out. "I'll take vanilla over any day, besides, the cookie I had was the softest and moist ever. Plus the peanut butter was soft unlike store bought."

"I think I like the cheesecake that they have here so far," Tomoyo stated, putting a finger on her chin and tapping it.

Suddenly, a phone beeped. Sonomi picked up her cell. "Yes? What? But I told you not to ship it today? Well who told them that? What? YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO LISTEN TO HER! Look, I'll be on my way back."

Tomoyo's mom got off the phone and gave an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry, but there's a little problem back at the company. It was nice to meet you Eriol, Syaoran. I'll see you later Sakura and you at home, Tomoyo." She sprinted out of the door and down the street in a fifteen seconds flat.

The four blinked, trying to absorb what just happened.

"So you guys want to go do something?" Syaoran spoke up first, getting up.

"Actually, Tomoyo and I still have our date to finish, don't we?" Eriol got up also and stuffed his hands in his pocket with a Cheshire cat smile on his face.

"Yeah, why don't you two hang out some more?" Tomoyo added with a wide grin.

"Actually there was one more place I planned for us to go," Sakura stated.

"Planned Sakura?" Tomoyo inquired with a hint of interest.

"Syaoran and I had an argument about something, and I wanted to prove him wrong," she explained as the raven hair girl's interest faded.

"Well, I guess we better go than," Syaoran said blankly still not seeing how today was going to prove him wrong.

"Looks like our ride is here," Tomoyo said, peering out the clear windows to see her bodyguards standing in front. "Bye Sakura. Bye Syaoran."

"Bye."

"Bye guys."

"See you later Tomoyo, Eriol."

A few minutes later, Sakura's limousine arrived where Syaoran and Sakura hopped on.

"So where are we going?" Syaoran asked, leaning comfortably on the black leather seats. "And you haven't proved me wrong yet." He plastered a smirk on, looking at Sakura with one eye while the other was close.

"You'll see, and I'll tell you when we get there," Sakura gazing at him with a smile. She couldn't help but notice a funny feeling storming inside of her. It was a warm fuzzy feeling and she wasn't sure if she should worry or not or if it was bad or not.

About ten minutes later, Syaoran looked outside the dark tinted windows and noticed that they had stopped in front of a girl's clothing store. Where did she want to take him?

"Sakura…" Syaoran asked nervously about ready to make a scene when they were out.

"Hehe, let's go take a picture together in the photo booth!" the girl shouted with joy, dragging Syaoran and pulling him in. It was tight and there was a dark curtain that Syaoran instantly pulled to cover them.

"What is the meaning of this?" Syaoran snarled. He could see the buttons and the screen in front of him.

"Please, Syaoran?" Sakura gave him a puppy dog-face and pouted adorably.

"Oh no," Syaoran turned away.

"Please, please, please!" Sakura held a tighter grip on his wrist.

Syaoran was going to regret this but mumbled a forceful 'fine', and Sakura popped in some money as they both posed some shots.

The first one was Syaoran being grouchy while Sakura smiled and was going to poke him to smile.

The second one had Syaoran with a small smile while a grinning Sakura had a finger on Syaoran's cheek.

The third was Syaoran with a real smile and Sakura smiling happily to achieve her task.

The fourth was Syaoran being grouchy again while Sakura did a funny face.

The fifth had both their funny faces.

The last one was two bright laughing faces.

It took awhile for it to print, but when it did, Sakura couldn't help but plaster on a big successful grin. She gave Syaoran a copy since she had paid for two copies.

"So what was the point of that?" Syaoran grunted, folding his tan arms across his chest. "How was this supposed to prove me wrong?"

"I know I can never prove you wrong because it's not a fact," the emerald-eyed girl began simply, staring into amber orbs. "But as long as we have happy memories together and build on our friendship, then it will never fade. Plus friendship isn't a one-player thing. We all have to compromise to make it work. I don't know about you, but I'm really happy to have met you and Eriol. I want all four of us to be friends forever because we have some great times, right? I just want it to last, you know? All today was was something memorable for you so you won't hopefully forget."

Syaoran held on to ever word, gazing at her too without realizing it.

"Syaoran?" the auburn hair girl waved a hand in front of his face with concern.

"Oh sorry," he shook his head. "I guess today was memorable…Thanks." He took his stare away from her and looked at his feet.

'So she really did care, huh? Maybe…maybe it won't have a happily never ending. Well, if Eriol does and now Sakura, Tomoyo will be there obviously, then I guess my life is…good?' Syaoran thought. Somehow, he was feeling suddenly, and it wasn't because he was sick.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **So I think it was a great chapter compared to the previous one.

**REVIEW PLEASE!**

Next update will be either July 23rd or 24th depending on how I feel when I return.


	12. Christmas Dance

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter XII

--Christmas Dance—

"Christmastime is here…" Sakura hummed to herself, staring contently outside to the cold air and the soft white snow glistening in the light.

"Good morning Sakura! You're here early," Tomoyo greeted her, putting away her things on her desk before heading towards Sakura.

In the past two months, Syaoran grew friendlier and nicer but only to mostly Sakura, and a little to Eriol and Tomoyo. Eriol and Tomoyo constantly tried to set Sakura and Syaoran alone on Saturdays, but nothing really important happened when the couple was stalking their friends except for the casual friendly talks, but the couple wasn't going to give up on them. Even though on the outside it may not some like nothing had changed, inside, Sakura and Syaoran had developed a strange feeling (Sakura's was stronger) inside themselves that was only continuing to build and only they knew about when they were with the other.

"I know, but I couldn't sleep after the snow storm yesterday," Sakura explained turning toward Tomoyo with a smirk. "I bet you couldn't stand not seeing Eriol for a whole day."

Tomoyo scoffed and placed her hands on her hip, pretending to be angry. "I can't believe you'd think so low of me! I could and I did."

Sakura giggled. "I'm sorry Tomoyo." Just then the bell rang to sign that class was to begin. A few seconds later, the announcements came on with some boring news except for the last one that caught most of the students' ears.

"And lastly, Tomoeda Middle School will be holding a first Christmas Dance. It is going to be on the 23rd, a Friday, from 7 PM to 10 PM. It is a casual dance so you can dress in jeans, skirts, or something school appropriate. Have a great day!" A click was heard to indicate that class could begin, but all of the students immediately started whispering and talking about it and who they wanted to take.

"Class…class…CLASS, QUIET! I know the news is exciting, but please be quiet because we have a lot to do today," the teacher demanded.

**XXXXX**

Lunch came and the whole cafeteria was inflated with exciting chitchat more than usual for the dance. People seemed to go up and walk toward a different table to ask someone out during the entire lunch, but it wasn't as bad as passing periods, which they would stop in the crammed hallway.

Eriol had already asked his girlfriend out at Tomoyo's locker before heading towards the cafeteria for some food. The three friends sat at their usual lunch table, catching some gossip of who asked who and who was going with who, which sparked something in Tomoyo's conniving mind.

"So Sakura, who are you going to the dance with?" Tomoyo popped the question with a quizzical smile.

"I don't know if I want to go…" Sakura began casually, poking with her plastic fork at her cafeteria made spaghetti microwaved in a can, avoiding her cousin's gaze.

"What? Why not?" Tomoyo inquired. "I had a perfect cute little outfit I could make," she added. "You have too!"

"Well…it's nothing. It's a silly reason," Sakura mumbled, still poking her food.

"What is it, Sakura?" Eriol repeated in a concerning manner.

Sakura let a long sigh out and then dubiously said, "Everyone's going to dress in cute outfits and most importantly, have a date, happily dancing. I'm dateless and I don't want to see everyone with someone enjoying and having a good time while I'm standing alone watching everyone."

"Why don't you ask someone?" Tomoyo said bluntly, her quizzical smile grew bigger.

"Like who?" the auburn hair girl demanded ingenuously, tilting her head to the side.

The navy hair boy took a bite of his spaghetti and then looked up to Sakura and uttered with his infamous Cheshire grin, "Why don't you ask Syaoran? I'm sure he'll want to go with you so he won't be left out too, being stuck at the orphanage for most of his day, getting out to have fun, never been inside a school before."

"Yeah," Tomoyo agreed with a gleam in her amethyst eyes. "Ask him!"

"Syaoran isn't very friendly with other people though except us…" Sakura tried to dissuade nervously. The thought of going to a dance with Syaoran made the strange, warm, fuzzy feeling tingle rising and her cheeks felt oddly warmer than usual. She wasn't getting sick was she?

"Sakura, you okay?" Tomoyo inquired concernedly.

"I'm fine." She plastered a happy, grinning face and continued to munch on her lunch.

"So are you going to ask Syaoran?" Tomoyo asked.

"I think I will," she smiled contently.

"Hohoho, now I have to make and plan your outfit! I'm thinking of a light pink and green outfit. You have to go to my house before so I can help you dress up, maybe add a little makeup," the raven hair girl continued to ramble on and on with more sparkle in her gleaming eyes.

"Hoe…" Sakura whined. It was going to be 'dress up Sakura' time again. Not that she didn't love the outfits that her best friend made, but sometimes, it was too much.

**XXXXX**

The freezing cold snowstorm yesterday made all of Tomoeda sparkle in the white soft powdery dust where ever you looked. With the golden sun up, the frost overtook its warmth before reaching the ground. The navy hair boy and the raven hair girl had persuaded Sakura to go visit Syaoran after school to ask him. The sooner he knew, the better. That's what the couple had agreed upon.

Sakura dragged her small feet on the snowy sidewalk neurotically. She still had no clue how to tell Syaoran. "Hey Syaoran, I'm here to ask you if you wanted to go to a dance that my school is having," she said out loud. It was too stupid and abrupt, but knowing the chestnut hair boy, he was going to immediately ask why she was here.

"Maybe I should start with telling him my day or something and then tell him about the dance and ask him then…" the emerald-eyed girl muttered under her breath, thinking aloud, not paying attention to her surrounding other than the sidewalk, which turned to its fault.

Thump! She bumped into a stranger and after the collision, she was waiting for the impact with the cold, hopefully soft ground snow ground, but two strong warm arms went around her torso and saved her.

Once back to her solid two feet, the eleven-year old girl was still trying to catch her breath and grasp what had just happened, and her emerald eyes were only staring to a thick, dark brown coat with tan buttons.

"I'm sorry. I should've watched where I was going. I'm sorry!" Those were the first words that Sakura spoke. She was going to step back and bow at the stranger, but the strong, warm arms were still around her. "Hoe…" she muttered faintly, closing her eyes.

"It's fine, Sakura. At least no one got hurt," the stranger uttered in a friendly manner, closing her eyes.

Oh no! This stranger knew her name! He was a stalker. He was going to kidnap her and hold her for ransom just like she'd heard on the news. Sakura started to panic and feel faint.

"Sakura, are you okay!" the stranger shouted, shaking her a little. His voice sounded a little too familiar though.

The girl looked up and saw his familiar chestnut hair, amber eyes that were filled with concern. "Syao…ran…?"

"Who did you think it was?" Syaoran gave a faint smile. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Last I checked, your house was that way." He pointed to the other direction where all the rich people lived.

"Ah…ha..ha…" Sakura muttered apprehensively.

"So what is it?" Syaoran repeated, not changing the subject.

"First, how was your day?" Sakura suddenly inquired.

"Same as always," the chestnut hair boy shrugged nonchalantly. "Except I decided to take a walk and get away from the nosy house. Yours?"

"Good. Today we found out that there's going to be a first school Christmas dance on the 23rd, and of course Tomoyo and Eriol are going together." Sakura paused for a moment, precarious as to what to do now.

"So who are you going with?" Syaoran broke the awkward silence, creating more tension and was ready to wince when she replied.

"Actually…" she stammered, halting for a moment, "that's why I'm here. What to go to the dance with me?"

The amber-eyed boy stepped back a little taken back at her response. "You mean as friends right?" Unbeknownst to either of them, Sakura's warm, fuzzy feeling disappeared to be replaced with unfamiliar agony for both of them.

"Uh…yeah, of course!" The emerald-eyed girl plastered on a strained smile and her cheerful face. It's casual so you can pretty much wear whatever you want to. It starts at seven. I'm sure I could pick you up or something." She began unconsciously twisting the bottom of her coat as a nervous reaction.

"That's okay. I'll ask Eriol if he can since he lives closer and it's on the way."

"So…" Neither of them said anything or looked at the other.

Once again, Syaoran took a stand and spoke up first. "So I'll see you at the dance then since you, Tomoyo, and Eriol have semester exams to worry about, right?"

"Yeah…Well, see ya." Sakura turned slowly around and embarrassingly walked home thinking about how she was going to the dance with Syaoran. She could see Tomoyo shrieking when she called her.

Meanwhile, Syaoran waited until he saw her figure fade before heading back to the orphanage, smiling. Wait…smiling? He had been smiling and laughing a lot lately and been slightly nicer. Oh no, what was wrong with him!

Unbeknownst to him, his cold, harsh self was going to be fading away whether he liked it or not…

**XXXXX**

Tonight was the night of the dance. Sakura was at Tomoyo's house in her large now filled with clothes everywhere room. After two hours of looking threw the clothes, none of the clothes Tomoyo had either she didn't like or Tomoyo didn't like it. Finally, Tomoyo threw out her latest creation that she quickly made the a few last alterations.

While Sakura went to change, Tomoyo briskly picked an outfit for her seeing how they only had about an hour left to get ready.

Once in their cute outfits, Tomoyo did Sakura's hair. Actually, she only cursed her two long bangs since that was pretty much all that she could do. Now was Tomoyo's turn. Sakura was going to straighten her long wavy raven hair.

"Tomoyo…" Sakura began, waiting for the straightener to heat up.

"What is it Sakura?" Tomoyo's amethyst eyes looked over to Sakura.

"Are you excited?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course! I get to spend time with Eriol and see you and Syaoran together."

With the mention of her 'date', Sakura blushed and turn silent as she went to check on the straightener.

"You okay Sakura?" Tomoyo gave her a kind, caring look.

"The straightener's ready." Sakura took it and went over to Tomoyo to seize some hair and place it between the two flat irons.

"Sakura, don't change the subject."

"Tomoyo, how…how did you feel when you found out you liked or loved Eriol?" Sakura asked, stuttering and quietly from the embarrassed question.

"There's an attraction that makes you want to be with him and you feel content with him. You have to trust him and most importantly, it's your heart that decides. Follow your heart. Ignore everything else because your heart knows how you feel even if you don't."

"Listen to…my…heart…" she repeated in a skeptical tone, trying to listen to her heart while straightening Tomoyo's hair.

After a few minutes of silence, the raven hair girl couldn't keep it in her system anymore. "So Sakura? What was with the question? Do you like someone? Would it happen to be a certain amber eye boy?"

"Hoee! How did you know!" the girl straightening hair began to blush until she looked like she had a flu.

"So you do!" Tomoyo exclaimed.

Sakura timidly nodded her head, making her emerald eyes disappear for awhile.

"Hohoho! I can't wait to tape you two tonight. When are you going to tell him?"

"Hoee…tell him? I didn't think about that. What if he doesn't like me? Then our friendship would be ruin and I don't want that. That's the last thing I want!" Sakura blurted.

Tomoyo just grinned with an all-knowing smile. She couldn't wait to tell Eriol this.

After some time, Tomoyo's hair was completely straight and longer.

Finally, all that was left was makeup was to put on the shoes and head out.

At promptly seven o'clock, the two girls arrived at the school gates in Tomoyo's limo. They could see their dates waiting patiently and nervously at the door.

Eriol was wearing slacked pants with a nice blue button up long sleeve shirt with the top unbutton under his long coat and his hair was neatly combed. The girls saw him checking his watch while talking to Syaoran.

Syaoran had on a pair of brown cargo pants, the nicest he could find, along with a white and green striped long sleeve button up shirt with the top two unbutton. His jacket seemed to be laying on his arm for the cold didn't seem to bother him much. Everyone could tell he tried to tame his messy chestnut hair from the dampness of the hair.

Then Syaoran stared at the tinted windows, which the girls were in and pointed over to show Eriol that the girls were here. As the boys were walking toward the limousine, the doors opened revealing two gorgeous shy, smiling girls.

Eriol gawked at the knee length lavender dress with ruffled short sleeves that Tomoyo had on with long black boots. It was stylish and had glittering sparkles around. Her straightened hair had two thin pink clips on one side and matching pink dangling earrings hung from her pale ears. She wore an amethyst jewel necklace on a silver chain and some lipgloss was on her lips.

On the other hand, Syaoran stared at Sakura's simple white long sleeve blouse with three pink cherry blossoms imprinted on the upper left side of the blouse. The edges of the blouse had a lace like look that went to her knuckles. Her pink knee length skirt had sparkling thin diagonal stripes. She had on white boots that went to her calves. Her two curly bangs insinuated her cute face and the lipgloss brought out her pink lips.

"So, what do you guys think?" the girl in the dress spoke up first with a knowing smile of success.

"You look beautiful, my lady." Eriol bowed down to her but not taking his dark blue eyes off of her and offering her his arm, which she happily took.

"What do you think of Sakura, Syaoran?" Tomoyo asked, hanging from Eriol's arm with a camcorder out and on.

"…Er…I…she…" he stammered, not realizing what was happening to him.

"It's not very nice to stare like that," Eriol teased, getting through Syaoran.

"Uh…she looks nice. You look nice, Sakura." Syaoran turned his blushing embarrassed face away to the side.

"Well, what are we waiting for? It's a dance right? Let's go inside and dance!" Tomoyo exclaimed, taking Sakura and Syaoran's hand and made them hold hands while dragging them in the gym.

The old gym looked polished and refurnish for the gym floor sparkled as the dance light shone around. Streamers, balloons, tables, chairs, and refreshment decorated and outline the dance floor. A small corner was the DJ taking requests and playing songs. Cute outfits replaced the ugly PE uniforms.

"C'mon, let's dance!" Tomoyo began dancing with Eriol while the other two stood watching still unconsciously holding hands.

After some time, everyone was dancing except the two.

"So…um…do you want to…" Sakura asked.

"Ugh…I don't know how to dance. I've never done it before," he replied, staring at his feet.

"I've never either, but it doesn't hurt to try," Sakura said lightly, smiling.

The chestnut hair boy couldn't help but return the smile and stare at his date. Why? He did not know, but all he knew was that he saw something different in the girl.

"Sure, but promise not to make fun of me or anything, got it?" Sakura nodded, and pulled them to the dance floor next to Eriol and Tomoyo.

"Finally joining in?" Eriol shouted through the loud music and talking people around them.

"Shut up, Eriol!" Syaoran spat in a joking manner with a smirk. With the big crowd, everyone moving, and the hot bright lights, getting thirsty and sweaty was not difficult. In half an hour, the four decided it was time for a break.

"Why don't we go get the girls some punch?" Eriol suggested, taking Syaoran out of the bunch.

When they were alone, Eriol plastered on his infamous Cheshire cat smile with an evil glint in his eyes. "Are you having fun with Sakura?"

The dubious boy nodded while getting some punch first. "You and Tomoyo seem to be having a great time too."

"Don't change the subject. Is there something you want to tell me?" Eriol led on.

"Tell you what?" he asked densely, not noticing where this obvious conversation was going.

"About a little cherry blossom, maybe? Any feelings for her?" Eriol blurted out, wanting to slap Syaoran for his stupidity.

"…Feelings? How did you know?" he hissed, looking around.

"So you like her!"

"What? NO!"

"Then what did you mean by 'feelings? How did you know'?" Eriol questioned, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.

The amber eye boy took a deep breath before speaking. "Lately, I've been getting…strange feelings around her. I don't know and I don't understand why and it's bugging me."

"What kind of strange feelings?"

"I don't know…like I can't help but think about her and her smile and her personality. But what bugs me to death is that I'm nice...a little too nice than I ever expected."

Eriol stood silently gazing at Syaoran while he was staring at the floor holding two drinks.

'It looks like he is growing.' Eriol smiled. 'I can't wait to tell Tomoyo this! Haha.'

"What do you think this means?" Syaoran spoke up from the silence.

Eriol didn't say anything at first until after he got two more drinks. "Think about what I just said and what you just said. I can't tell you that, but I can tell you that what you feel, take the first chance you get and do something about it."

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"Syaoran, I know you're not that stupid. Just think about it!" Eriol shouted. "Now, let's go back to the girls before they wondered if we ditch them."

As Eriol scurried through the crowd with Syaoran slowly following behind, contemplating on the conversation and his feelings.

'So you like her!' That sentence popped out the most. 'Do I like her? I can't. I don't. This is just how friendship feels like. Then why don't I feel this way towards Tomoyo?'

As he debated over two sides during the walk, it was cut off short when he was back with Sakura and Tomoyo.

"Thank you, Syaoran," Sakura rang, taking a drink, grinning sincerely.

The boy couldn't help but stare at her face and smile like he had been doing for the last couple of months.

"You want to get back to the dance, Eriol?" Tomoyo placed her empty cup on a nearby table and the navy hair boy followed.

Leaving the amber eye boy with the emerald orb girl, he figured it was obvious that they should probably dance some more, but when he asked, she declined and wanted to take a walk outside for awhile since she was still hot a little. They grabbed their jackets and coats and headed outside.

The big silver moon shone outside the clear black blanket in the sky. Little diamonds were sewed on the blanket, creating more light. The bare trees that covered the school had long shadows that blurred with others, creating a big dark shadow.

The auburn hair girl took a long deep breath and began skipping, dancing, running around like a little kid, smiling with her skirt flowing gently.

Syaoran put a hand through his messy chestnut hair and began thinking again while staring obliviously at Sakura.

'She's just a friend, only a friend, nothing more, and nothing less. She's a good friend, no, a great friend. She's nice, innocent, fun, thoughtful, adorable—adorable?' Syaoran wanted to slap himself until he perceived what was in front of him: Sakura's smiling face as she danced around without a care. Her big emerald eyes that he liked and have seen nothing like it before. Her little nose, her pink lips.

So you like her!

He hated it when Eriol was right. He had to admit defeat. He liked her.

"Syaoran, Syaoran, I felt something cold and wet on my nose!" The emerald eye girl dashed toward where Syaoran stood.

"Are you sure? Maybe it was just the wind. You might catch a cold."

"No, I felt it again!"

"Sa—" He started until he felt something too.

"It's snowing! Look!" she pointed up with her face pointing up. "Hehehe…Achoo!"

"You okay?" Syaoran asked worriedly.

"Yeah, but just a little cold. Nothing to worry about," she said determinedly to stay outside but shivered a little.

Syaoran grabbed her hand softly and pulled her over toward him.

"No, I don't want to go inside yet!" she pouted.

Instead of Syaoran arguing like she thought he would, he pulled her closer toward his body and held her. As the white snow continued to fall faster and take a more solid form, the two started swaying back and forth, both enjoying the comfort in each other in the silent alone.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **I liked writing this chapter! It's so cute. Speaking of the SS, they will get together soon. People have been asking and they will. Just be patient and wait!

_**Thank you reviewers for all of your nice, great reviews!**_

REVIEW PLEASE!


	13. Confessions and Promises

**Author's Note: **Would've updated like on Monday...a few days ago, but my uncle was fixing my computer and unluckily nothing got deleted so I didn't have to rewrite it thank goodness! I'm starting school on Wednesday so I will TRY to post another one before.

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter XIII

--Confessions and Promises—

The spying, mischievous couple had assumed that everything was a-okay with Syaoran and Sakura and that they were finally a couple, but they were wrong.

The next day… 

"So are you and Syaoran finally a couple?" Tomoyo slyly asked once their Christmas Eve dinner was over and the two were alone. It was a tradition that Fujitaka threw a little Christmas dinner for his whole entire family.

"Hoe? What do you mean?" The auburn hair girl immediately blushed, reminiscing on last night's event.

"You mean you two aren't a couple yet?" Tomoyo's amethyst eyes narrowed in bafflement.

"Nope. Where did you get that idea, Tomoyo?" Sakura lied down on her stomach in her room floor and looked up.

"But I saw you two hugging and I thought…"

"You saw us! You were spying? Who else saw? Hoe," Sakura's head plopped back down and a thunk was heard.

"It was just me and Eriol. And we weren't spying…just making sure you were safe," the raven hair girl defended, frowning. "I got it all on tape though."

"Hoe…Tomoyo…"

**XXXXX**

Over a month passed by and February was here. Ever since the two had acknowledged their feelings and the dance, there was always jarring in the atmosphere when they were around each other. Neither of them knew what their relationship was now—just friends or more?

Of course now that February was here, all the shops were decorated for the month of love with red and pink hearts. That didn't help when the four hung out the first week. Workers presumed that it was a double date and Syaoran and Sakura were a couple saying comments like 'You two are a cute couple' or 'It's so nice to find love at a young age'. It was difficult to correct their mistake since they didn't allow the two to say something without interrupting them.

Now, the snowy days were beginning to chill down a little but it was still cold. As Valentine's day was coming up, Sakura had no clue what to do since it was the girl's that gave gifts. She was terrified of rejection and how it would ruin their friendship, but Tomoyo had told her that 'life was short so you should live it, not thinking what ifs'.

It was a Friday, two days before Valentine's day. A girl paced back and forth in front of a fairly new and good quality store. Her emerald eyes gazed at the blue sign with 'Craft Shop' in red. The door sign read 'open', yet the girl was still dawdling in front.

That day during lunch, she heard some girls talking about how if you gave the one you love the most a teddy bear with a ribbon and he/she names it after you, then they would be in love forever. It was a silly myth, but it was something she wanted to do to try. On New Year's, she went to the pond at the festival with the gang and like every year ever since the first time they went together made a wish. She wished that she could be with Syaoran forever happily and he would return her feelings. She was so superstitious but who could blame her?

People walking by had already stared strangely at the pacing girl. Sakura walked closer to the shop and opened the door. The ding of the bell rang as she entered.

'I can buy the material, make it, but I don't have to give it to him if I chicken out,' she told herself. 'Just take it one step at a time.'

"Can I help you with something?" a kind looking saleswoman inquired. She had a long brown ponytail matching brown eyes. Under a blue apron was a light blue long sleeve shirt and khakis pants.

"Um…where is the material for making a bear?" Sakura stammered nervously.

"Right over here. Would it happen to be for a special someone?" the woman asked, winking at Sakura.

Auburn hair bounced from the nod.

Because the woman was so much wiser and older, she could sense that Sakura was single and wanting to tell a guy her feelings. "Well, good luck. Just pick out a pattern and tell me when you're done."

Sakura nodded densely and gazed through her choices until she found one that was cute and looked simple to make. Hopefully her dad would help her since sewing wasn't her best activity.

The next two days, she spent sewing slowly and concisely. Everything had to be perfect. She had already gotten a few stabs by the needle causing her finger to bleed but Sakura knew the result would be worth it.

At last, Sunday arrived. Instead of going out together with the gang, everyone had agreed that since it was Valentine's day, Eriol and Tomoyo could have the weekend to themselves, leaving Syaoran and Sakura by themselves. It was Sakura who told Syaoran if he wouldn't mind spending time on Sunday. Both were nervous since neither of them knew what the other was thinking.

The emerald orb girl wanted to confess and get it over with with a hopefully happy ending. That was after a good day they would have together.

The amber eye boy knew that he had the perfect chance to tell Sakura today also. After practically replaying the conversation with Eriol at the dance over and over, he finally knew what the sapphire eye boy meant—tell Sakura when he first figure out his true feelings. Plus, he would get to be alone with _his_ Sakura. He liked the sound of that.

The plan was that Sakura would come to the orphanage and they would just walk around the Tomoeda. It was simple and probably not romantic, but neither of them cared as long as they were with the other person together.

It was almost ten. Unlike the other weekends, Syaoran suggested apprehensively to meet up earlier, which Sakura coyly accepted.

A boy with unruly chestnut hair circled around the front of the orphanage. He wore baggy jeans with a green-short sleeve button up shirt and a jacket. His amber eyes occasionally glanced toward the old, rusty black gates waiting for a figure to show. Unconsciously, he seemed to find himself closer to the gate with every minute and get kind of taut. The only thing in his mind was how to tell Sakura that he liked her…heck, loved her.

His watch beeped at the struck of ten. His eyes gazed around the street to find a familiar figure sprinting towards him.

"Hoe, am I late?" Sakura said, huffing hard for air. Syaoran noticed that she had on a casual green dress that most likely Tomoyo designed and brought to life. The dress only insinuated her big emerald orbs even more.

"No. Right on time. Did you run all the way here?" Syaoran questioned.

Sakura shook her head. "I walked and then after awhile, I looked at my watch to see that I was almost late. That really is a bad habit though."

The boy couldn't help but simper. 'Typical Sakura.'

"Hey! Don't laugh at me!" The girl pouted cutely and crossed her arms across her chest while glaring at Syaoran looking like a little girl.

Syaoran stuck his tongue out. 'What am I doing?' He had never done that before. 'This girl,' he thought.

"What are you staring at?" the chestnut hair teen asked once back to reality.

Sakura blinked a couple of times before answering. "You have never done that before!"

"Yeah, so? Am I not allowed to try new things?" he demanded, embarrassed that she had noticed.

'Should I tell her now? It seems like a good time right? But if she rejects me, then this day would be ruin. No, I don't want that, not yet.'

"I was just surprised."

"Oh."

"Let's get going then." Sakura began skipping down the street to the area of many shops and a park.

"Hey, wait up!" Syaoran had to jog a little to catch up to the spontaneous girl.

And so the two began walking around, pointing and commenting on things as well as stopping at some stores to look around.

Gurggg!

"What was that?" Syaoran asked two hours later, looking around to find the owner of the noise.

Gurggg!

Red crept onto Sakura's cheeks as she held her stomach, trying to decrease the sound.

Of course the second time, Syaoran knew exactly where the noise came from and stared at Sakura, trying to stifle his laugh but couldn't.

"Hahaha…should we…haha…stop…hahah for lunch? Haha." Then, it was Syaoran's stomach's turn to grumble for food.

"Haha, are you ahaha sure hahah that I'm hahah the only one? Haha?"

"Alright, alright. I'm hungry too. Let's go get something to eat. What do you want to eat?"

"Dumplings! And I know the best place. C'mon!" The auburn hair girl grabbed Syaoran's hand and traipsed him down a few street and corners.

'Geez she runs fast, almost as fast as me,' Syaoran thought as his feet finally got on to the action.

In a few minutes, they had arrived to an open-air restaurant. It was small and quaint but the delicious food odor tingle his stomach as his mouth began to water. Like every store and restaurant, it was decorated in pink, white, and red for Valentine's Day. There were a few tables outdoor and five bar seat. Sakura dragged Syaoran to a table and sat down next to him still holding his hand.

"Good afternoon. What can I get you lovely couple on this fine Valentine's Day?" A plump cheery man popped up from nowhere with a pencil and pad. He wore a white chef hat and a dark blue apron over his normal clothes. Sparks of black and gray hair could be seen from under the hat.

"We're not a couple!" both of them shouted at the same time. They glanced at each other, blushed, and looked away.

"Then why are you two holding hands?" he asked bluntly, scratching his head.

"Err…" They both instantly let go and turned redder.

"No matter. What would you two like to have then?"

"Dumplings please!" Sakura exclaimed as he scribbled something down.

"And for the young man?"

"Uh…I'll have what she's having then." Syaoran had no clue what they sold and he didn't want the guy to stay there any longer than he had to because Syaoran feared something else stupid would escape the cook's lips.

"Alright. Two plates of dumplings. Anything to drink?"

"Coke please."

"Water's fine."

"Okay. I'll be out in five minutes with your drink while I go prepare your dumplings."

Neither of them said anything to each other after another comment that they were a couple. Both yearned that it was true and maybe it would be later that day but now, they didn't know how to act.

"Here are your drinks. Your dumplings will be ready soon." The plump man waddled back to the kitchen to finish his order while whistling pleasantly.

"So what did you do yesterday?" the chestnut hair boy spoke up casually to break the silence and start a conversation.

"Oh nothing really. I had to do a few chores around the house and listen to Tomoyo babbling on her date with Eriol." Sakura sighed and her emerald eyes turned nostalgic. "It sounded romantic too." Sakura started playing with her drink and circling the straw around the edge in boredom.

The many bandages got amber eyes. "Is that how you got hurt?"

"Hoe, no. I was doing something else." She had forgotten to take them off before the date.

"Something dangerous?"

"Well…not really."

"Then how did that happen?" Syaoran began fuming and bellowing that pedestrians started to watch the scene as well as nearby people enjoying their lunch.

"I was just sewing something," Sakura explained calmly, trying to pacify the boy.

"And you got four cuts that bad?" His eyes narrowed incredulously.

"I really stink at sewing. You can ask Tomoyo or Touya or my father."

"Then why did you do it?"

"It's a secret." The auburn hair girl plastered a clandestine smile with her eyes glittering.

"I suppose I won't get it out of you, huh?"

She shook her head. 'Not yet anyway,' she thought.

'This girl….drives me so mad. Maybe that's why I love her so much,' Syaoran thought, carelessly smiling.

"What's funny? Is that something on my face?" the ingenue girl questioned, cocking her head to the side innocently.

"Huh?"

"You're smiling for no reason."

"Am I? Oh." The teen ran his right hand through his unruly hair.

Emerald orbs soften as she began reminiscing. "You know, I never thought I'd see you this nice and happy."

Those words rang through Syaoran's ears as he took interest and gazed at her.

"When we first met, you didn't like me one bit but I suppose my stubbornness won and we became friends after awhile. Why I wanted to be friends with you I have no clue but I'm glad we did. We have many good memories to cherish don't we? I hope you won't forget them like I won't no matter what happens between us or with Eriol and Tomoyo too. Then you don't believe we could be friends forever but just watch. We will. I know it in my heart. I'm just glad you could change and be happy," she said sincerely, taking another sip of Coke.

The chestnut hair boy didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say. She was his angel yet she didn't realize it. She did so much for him and yet what had he done for her? Nothing important except being her friend except he didn't want to be her friend. He wanted more.

"No matter what happens, we'll be friends, right?" Syaoran repeated.

"Yes," Sakura choked out softly.

"Good."

'So if she rejects me, we ignore it ever happening and continue our lives as friends,' Syaoran thought as his heart panged at the thought.

"Your dumplings are ready. Here you go." The man popped at their table and carefully placed them in front of the respective customer.

In about twenty minutes, they were finished and Syaoran insisted to pay for the meal. Thanks to daily allowances that he saved up, he had a decent some before he became an orphan but it was quickly getting scarce.

"The weatherman said it was supposed to be sunny all day but I don't know now," Sakura remarked, staring at the dark clouds hovering above them.

"Let's make the most of it before it rains then," Syaoran suggested, trying to find a perfect time to tell her.

"If that's the case, we have to go to Penguin Park."

"Why?"

"I wanted to play on the swings." With that, the two began to headway for the park, which was quite a walk. As they were walking, the clouds grew darker and grayer. Slowly, it began to drizzle and they picked up their pace.

"Do we have to go to the park?" Syaoran asked. He didn't like the rain.

"We're almost there," Sakura pleaded as they crossed a bridge and to the park. Immediately, she dashed to the slide and crawl under the hole and took a green box out. Because it was raining, all the children and adults were heading home, safe from the rain.

The boy with chestnut hair and the girl with auburn hair met halfway from where they were walking slowly. The rain began to get heavier, making their clothes and hair wet but neither of them cared at the moment.

"This is for you," Sakura stammered apprehensively, holding the box out to Syaoran. The pitter-patter of the rain hitting the box made the box damp also.

The teen took the box and slowly opened it, curious as to what was in it. Inside, Syaoran found a light brown soft bear with black beady eyes.

"I made it myself. That's—"

"That's how you got hurt. You didn't have too." Amber eyes landed on the top and placed it back so it wouldn't get wetter.

"I know, but it is Valentine's Day, a—and…and I love you." Those words whispered out of her pink lips as she quickly turned around and turned pink. Her emerald eyes disappeared from the world's sight while she waited for his rejection. "It's okay if you don't feel the same way. I thought you should know so that way I won't have any regrets. Tomoyo told me—"

Unbeknownst to the terrified girl, Syaoran quietly walked over to face Sakura with her eyes still closed. He placed a finger gently over her soft lips to hush her.

'Hoe…' she mumbled in her head as her cheeks turned to various shades of pink to red in a matter of seconds.

The last words shocked the boy as his eyes lit with joy and eased a bit. "Remember what you said to me at lunch?" The rain continued falling at the same rate and Syaoran hugged Sakura like at the Christmas dance.

Peeking with one eye, she nodded her head and then opened both. She enjoyed the body warmth but didn't return the hug yet.

"All of those things you said were true and I want to thank you."

'Oh no, he's going to reject me now after that.' The girl began panicking but his strong arms around her couldn't let her do much.

"And all my changing was because of you. All my happiness comes from you. All of who I am now is because of you so thank you. With that, I want to be with you forever more than just friends. I love you too."

Sakura's red face grew redder if that was possible as she felt his strong arms around her tighten. She felt safe and comfortable with him. Leisurely, she returned the hug.

"You know what? I heard the day you tie a ribbon around the bear and name it, it's the bear's birthday. If you name it for the one you love, you two are supposed to have eternal love."

"Is that so? I guess I'll have to name it Sakura then."

Sakura slightly pushed away to reach for a pink big ribbon in her pocket and tied it around the bear's small neck.

"There," she said satisfactory.

The rain began to fall harder and harder.

"I think the orphanage is closer. Why don't we head there and you can call someone to pick you up?" The teen's chestnut hair was now damp and covered over his amber eyes.

"Haha. Okay." Sakura's auburn hair was damp also and a few strands of hair were stuck on her face. They both ran toward the orphanage and Sakura splashed in a few deep puddles on the sidewalk.

"If you get any wetter, you'll catch a cold!" Syaoran roared through the heavy rain worriedly.

The girl pouted cutely crossing her arms. "Just one more!"

They were nearing the orphanage and Sakura saw a really big one and ran toward it but tripped. Since the damp chestnut hair boy had perfect reflexes, he managed to catch her but they both began rolling down a hill in the grass, mud, rocks, and twigs, which was painful.

Thump!

The new official couple was stopped by Syaoran's back hitting a sturdy tree.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Syaoran! Are you okay? I'm sorry!" Sakura kneeled beside her lover and checked to see if he was okay.

"I've had more painful experiences." Syaoran winced and stood up slowly with the help of Sakura.

"Are you okay, Sakura?"

"I'm fine. Thank you."

"I meant the bear," the boy said teasingly.

Sakura punched Syaoran in a friendly style. "Well, I think she's fine but I can't say the same for the box." The girl handed Syaoran the smashed green box.

Amber orbs gazed around the sight where they were. It was vaguely familiar as if they had been here before. Wait a moment. They have!

"Sakura, isn't this a cherry blossom tree?"

Emerald orbs gazed at the tree for a moment. "Yup! Why?"

"This is the same one that I found you hiding at remember? The first time you were here?"

"That's right! Every spring, this little area is always blooming with cherry blossoms! It's so pretty!" Sakura began spinning around. The rain was lightening up.

Syaoran contemplated for a moment staring from the tree to Sakura. Abruptly, he stopped Sakura's fun and held her hand.

"Let's make a promise, Sakura. Every 14th day of the month, let's meet here. Right here under the cherry blossom tree no matter what." Syaoran inched his face closer to Sakura's ear as he whispered it. "And it'll be our little special secret place. Promise?"

Sakura felt Syaoran's hot breath entering her ear.

"Promise."

And then, Syaoran gave Sakura a soft kiss on her cheek.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **sigh So sweet. Too bad I can't have something like that.

Happy? They're together.

I'M GLAD THAT ALL OF YOU LIKED THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER! THANKS FOR THE NICE REVIEWS!

REVIEW PLEASE!


	14. White Day

**Author's Note: **Okay, a couple of my smart, observant readers noticed that I made a stupid, careless mistake on one of my chapters. So Syaoran and Eriol already knew that Tomoyo's mom own a toy company and was rich before the chapter at the toy company. SO SORRY! I AM SO CARELESS and have fixed it! THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME!

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter XIV

--White Day—

"What! You two confessed yesterday!" a raven hair girl shrieked. Since today was such a nice day, the three decided to have their lunch outside under a tree. Her shriek rang through outside to inside that everyone stared at the girl.

"Tomoyo, people are looking again," Eriol said calmly but smirked.

"Hoe…"

"How did it happen? When? So are you two finally a couple?" Tomoyo blast one question after another to the blushing girl.

While Sakura explained excitedly to Tomoyo, Eriol was deep in his thoughts that it only took Syaoran a little less than two months. He really was denser than Eriol thought but now he couldn't blackmail him about his crush, but there were other ways.

"Aww…that's so cute!" Tomoyo's eyes gleamed with bright yellow stars. "And I didn't get it on tape!"

"Now, now Tomoyo. I'm sure you'll have plenty of chances like maybe on their first date or something," Eriol uttered in a reassuring, pleasant voice.

"Tomoyo, you wouldn't!" Sakura's eyes widen pleadingly.

"Of course not."

But both Eriol and Tomoyo both were thinking, 'We're spying on them no matter what'.

"Tomoyo, something else happened after our confession," Sakura added but this time her voice was quieter and shier.

Amethyst orbs widen to round plates and wonder as a hundred things went through her head. "What? What happened? You _have_ to tell me, Sakura!"

Sakura scooted over to Tomoyo and clamped her small hands over her best friend's ear and whispered something.

"WAH! REALLY! Sakura, you must be kidding! I didn't get it on tape!" Tomoyo whined while pouting.

"Do I want to know?" Eriol questioned, raising a thin brow.

"He kissed her! He kissed her!" Tomoyo shrilled.

"On the cheek," Sakura added embarrassed.

"Now Tomoyo, you'll have many more chances," Eriol soothed, trying to hush his girlfriend.

"But her _first_ confession, her _first_ kiss on the cheek," Tomoyo pouted.

"Tomoyo, please stop! Fine, if it'll make you happy, you can film us on our _first_ date as a couple, which is probably going to be White Day. I know! We can have a first real double date! And I'll wear anything you want me to wear," Sakura compromised, trying to cheer up the raven hair girl. "But I can't promise you anything about a first real kiss."

"Really?" Tomoyo immediately stopped whining and began thinking about possible outfit ideas.

"You do realize what you got yourself into, right?" Eriol muttered to Sakura.

The auburn hair girl nodded. Anything to make Tomoyo happy.

**XXXXX**

BAM!

A cute giggle rang through a certain amber eye boy's ears. "Hehe, Happy White Day, Syaoran!" The auburn hair girl had secretly surprised her boyfriend by jumping on him from behind and landing on his shoulders.

"Ahh! I almost lost my balance, Sakura," Syaoran scolded kindly. He wore baggy jeans and a white T-shirt under a green jacket. "But Happy White Day to you too. Have you considered doing high jump? You'd be good at it." Syaoran chuckled once Sakura got off.

Sakura gaped at their surrounding, awing at the pretty sight. She had on jeans imprinted with white blossoms on the right front pocket with a matching pink blouse with white stripes over a green tank top. "It's so pretty here." She twirled around, enjoying the blooming cherry blossoms and the breeze. It was the couple's first meeting at their special place. Sun shone down and brightened the area through the cracks.

"Tomoyo and Eriol are going to meet us at the ice skating rink at the mall," the emerald eye girl informed, grinning happily.

"Ice skating?" The chestnut hair boy gulped nervously.

"Yup! Is there a problem?"

"I've never ice skated before."

"Then I'll teach you! It's easy once you get use to it and it's really fun!"

"You won't laugh if I fall, right?"

"No. I fell loads of time when I began rollerblading," Sakura replied empathetically. "So we better get going."

"I have to give you your White Day gift first," Syaoran spoke up, showing up from behind a cherry blossom tree. He handed Sakura a pink bag with white tissue paper in it. It was light, but when her emerald eyes peered pass the tissue paper, the emeralds sparkled.

"Did you make it yourself?" Sakura took a dark brown furry bear with dark beady eyes.

"Yeah. I've never sewn before so I had to ask Eriol for help, but it was pretty easy after he taught me." Then Syaoran dug through his pockets, reaching for something. "And like an angel told me about a bear's birthday." Syaoran tied a white ribbon around the bear's neck. "What are you going to name it?"

"Hmm…I don't know." The girl placed a finger on her chin, tapping it while pretending to think. She stared at the stuff animal. "It looks like a…a Daisuke!" she teased, gazing up to see the look on her boyfriend's expression.

His horrified face seemed to be glued like that for awhile. "What! Do you not love me anymore? Who's this 'Daisuke' anyway?" he fumed, clenching his fist about ready to hit something.

"Hoe, are you jealous?" she pressured on.

"Me? Jealous? NO!" he retorted. Heat was really emitting from his head from his furious animosity.

"Hehe." Sakura wrapped her arms around Syaoran's torso to calm the fuming boy. "I've never seen you jealous, Syaoran. It's kinda cute, and there's no Daisuke. It was the first name that popped up. I love you and only you, Syaoran." She gave him a kiss on his cheek. "And I love this Syaoran too," she uttered, indicating to the bear and kissing its black soft nose.

"You are cruel, Sakura," the chestnut hair boy glared still hugging the angel in his arms.

"I promise to never do that again. I'm sorry."

"I'll except your apology after my revenge."

"Revenge? What are you going to do?" Sakura asked curiously.

"This." The boy had a mischievous gleam in his eyes as began tickling her.

"Haha, Syao-haha-ran, hahah-st-opp!" the girl begged hysterically. "You're-hahaha-mea-hahah-mean!" A minute later, Sakura was crying from the laughing and her cheeks and stomach hurt.

"I think you've learned your lesson."

Sakura stuck her tongue at him. "I remember the first time you did that."

"It was the first time we met," he finished, recollecting that day that fate brought them together.

"You know, Eriol and Tomoyo might get impatient for waiting too long if we don't leave soon," Sakura stated once she calmed down.

"Alright." So the two walked to the mall hand in hand with a smile.

**XXXXX**

"Where are they? They're late!" Eriol complained, glancing at his watch. The older couple was in front of the ice rink searching around to find their friend.

"I'm sure they'll be here. Maybe Syaoran had to give Sakura something for White Day so it's taking awhile. Or Sakura was late meeting Syaoran. You know how she is," Tomoyo reassured holding her camcorder. In her hair was a white silk ribbon from Eriol.

"But an hour!" Eriol shouted. "They probably ditched us," he muttered.

"Who ditch you?" Syaoran and Sakura saw their friends from behind and heard what Eriol had said.

"There you guys are!" Tomoyo greeted.

"Took you long enough."

"Sorry but I had to give Sakura her White Day gift," Syaoran explained, indicating the bag.

"But an ho—" Eriol's statement was quickly interrupted by his girlfriend.

"Now that we're all here. Let's get some skates and skate!"

It took all for about fifteen minutes to pay, lock up their belongings, and put on their rented ice skates.

The rink was oval shape with a newly smooth patch of ice (the machine had drove around already), and bright orange cones were outlined in the center so everyone would skate one way.

The glasses wearing boy and the raven hair girl were already smoothly skating on the ice. Sakura gracefully entered the rink and was about to start when she felt something…rather someone holding her back.

"A little help?" the boy whispered meekly, gazing nervously at the white rink.

"Sure thing."

"Hey, what's taking you two so long?" Tomoyo and Eriol had already lapped them.

"I'm gonna teach Syaoran how to skate."

"You don't know how too?" Tomoyo asked.

The mess of chestnut hair went from side to side.

"Hey Tomoyo, if you catch Syaoran falling on tape, can I have a copy?" Eriol asked innocently.

Since Syaoran was now on the ice, he glared at the other boy and tried to chase after him only to remember where he was. Thump! The amber eye boy had fallen after one step while the navy hair boy began to laugh.

"Maybe you shouldn't skate so far from the handle yet," Sakura advised, helping him up. The boy seized Sakura's arm tightly, refusing to let go until he reached the sides to grab onto the handle.

"Hohoho, isn't that so cute, Eriol?" Tomoyo's amethyst orbs were behind a camcorder filming this episode.

"I suppose. I'm just more interested in him falling, but it's nice to finally see him happy and smiling. I just hope it lasts," he confessed, grinning. "Now, let's forget about them for awhile and skate." The dark midnight blue eye boy slipped his hand on Tomoyo's free one and went around the rink a few times talking, holding hands, and laughing.

Meanwhile with the newer couple, Syaoran was glaring constantly at the ice. It was now his new worst enemy. If it wasn't for the handle and Sakura, he would've fallen a gagillion of times.

"C'mon Syaoran, it's not that hard. Relax a bit and just slide one foot at a time. You'll get use to it after a little bit of practice." Sakura took Syaoran's left hand as she pulled him a little farther from the side. "Just take it slowly."

The Syaoran could do martial arts, wield a sword decently (he just needed to practice more), and have good friends, and yet how could he not ice skate?

Unconsciously since Syaoran was in deep thought with his steps, Sakura let go of him and kept up with him, smiling.

"Looks like you can do it!" Sakura shouted, screaming Syaoran, making him stumble, waving his arms to try to keep his balance, and grabbed the handle.

"You didn't have to do that and let me to!" he uttered, shocked.

"Hoee…I'm sorrry Syaoran. It's like riding a bike. Sometimes your dad has to let you go so you can do it yourself, but you did really well!" Sakura tried to explain and smooth talk her boyfriend. "Do it by yourself now and see."

Grunting reluctantly, he slowly let go and took off one step at a time. Just as he reached a curve, he couldn't turn yet and glided to the handle.

Sakura zoomed to Syaoran once he landed safely. It took him awhile to get to the other side, but he did it! That was all that mattered.

"I told you! You could do it! How'd that feel?" Sakura shouted with thrill, hugging him.

"It was kind of scary…especially since I didn't want to fall but fun. I think I'll practice I bit by myself for awhile. I don't want to slow you do," the amber eye boy said, looking down to the girl in his arms.

Sakura asked, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Just stop whenever you want." Letting go of each other, Sakura left to find Eriol and Tomoyo.

After about forty-five minutes, Sakura was skating with Syaoran. Eriol and Tomoyo decided to take a break and get something to eat. Syaoran was too determine to quit yet, even if it was a break so Sakura stayed behind. Luckily for the boy who couldn't ice skate, he was a fast learner and once he managed to control it slowly, medium, walking rate wasn't that hard, but he was still a bit wobbly.

"This isn't so bad after all!" Syaoran had a proud grin on his face. "Thanks for helping me, Sakura."

"I told you, and no problem. That's what girlfriends are for, right?" The emerald eye girl winked flirtatiously at him and squeezed his hand, giggling.

Guuurrhhggg!

"Hungry?" Sakura asked, laughing.

"After all my falls and landing on my butt, I think so. Let's get some food. Plus, my feet's killing me!"

"Alright."

After the four took a little break, munching on an original pretzel each and sipping on a coke. Once they finished their snack, the four went around the rink a few more times before getting bored and calling it quits.

The two couples decided to hang out at the mall for a bit until it was almost dinnertime, where everyone had to be home, thus ending the White Day for all couples.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **Cruddy ending. Egh. I'm sorry about that.

I'M GOING TO START SCHOOL TOMORROW SO THAT'LL PROBABLY MEAN I WON'T HAVE TIME TO WRITE AND UPDATE. Like last school year, I stopped until summer began so I might have to do that, but I plan on trying to write on my breaks if I don't have many projects and etc. PLEASE BE PATIENT!


	15. Unpleasant Birthday

**Author's Note:**Mwahaha, I'm bacckk a lot sooner than I thought. First week...3 days of school haven't been stressful yet so look what I have! A new chappie! I have the feeling that this is the calm before the storm at school. sighs HOPE YOU LIKE IT!

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter XV

--Unpleasant Birthday—

April 1st. Today was April 1st, marking twelve years that a certain emerald eye girl had live here on earth. Since it was still a school day, Sakura's party was going to held the next day after school, an after school birthday party.

Brringg! Brrinngg!

The mundane school bell rang throughout the school property. As every excited student dashed out of their last class to their lockers, to meet their friends, and go home after a long, boring, sunny day.

Standing quietly, timidly, and patiently behind the brick wall where the rusty, old gates stood for people to enter and leave. Girls in their groups passed by and eyed him flirtatiously but Syaoran sent a cold glare at them to scare them away.

Peeking over through the gate now and then, he was hoping to spot Sakura.

Since he was wearing normal baggy shorts, a white T-shirt, and sandals, the chestnut hair boy stood out compared to everyone and their white sailor like uniforms.

Finally, familiar voices stood out of the loud chattering of his environment.

"Sakura!" Syaoran revealed himself, waving his hand in the air.

"Syaoran!" Sakura chirped happily, running toward her boyfriend as Eriol and Tomoyo followed her.

"What are you doing here?" the auburn hair girl inquired, cocking her head to one side with a usual smile.

"What? I can't visit my girlfriend on her birthday?" Syaoran defended, raising an eyebrow.

"You remembered?"

"He might be slow sometimes, but he's not that stupid, Sakura," Eriol commented.

"I'll ignore that for now." Amber glares blasted over to the navy hair boy.

"That's so cute! Syaoran couldn't wait to see his love at her party the next day so just had to see her a day earlier." Tomoyo had starry eyes shining in her amethyst orbs.

"Hooeee…Tomoyo…"

"Since Syaoran walked all the way here, I'm sure there's a reason. Let's give them some privacy," Eriol insisted, dragging his too well-known girlfriend with him.

"But-"

"Come on. We have to give them some privacy now and then," Eriol whispered, becoming serious.

"Alright."

Back to the other couple, Syaoran and Sakura were walking in the direction of the orphanage hand in hand.

"Any particular reason why you wanted to see me so soon?" Sakura smiled.

"Actually, there is." Syaoran stopped and stuck his hand into a pocket. "This is for you. Happy birthday." The amber eye boy leaned over and kissed Sakura on the forehead lovingly and handed her a small white box with a pink ribbon on it.

"What's in here?" Her big, shiny eyes widen with joy as well as a cheerful smile plastered on.

"Open it."

Taking of the ribbon, the auburn hair girl removed the top. Inside laid a thin silver chain necklace with a flower silver ring with a shiny green rhinestone in the middle of the flower. Engraved inside was S.L.+S.K. (heart) forever.

"It's a promise ring that we'll be together no matter what," Syaoran explained, looking away flushed.

"I love it! Thank you!" She hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Do you think you can put it on for me?"

He took the necklace out and clasped it around the thin neck.

Smiling, Sakura fondly looked at the necklace. "No matter what."

They walked all the way to the orphanage and then at the entrance, they parted, saying their good-byes until tomorrow.

Syaoran was the luckiest guy in the world. He had great friends, a great girlfriend, and a great life, especially after his parent's death. Nothing could go wrong. That was before he entered the orphanage.

He had an eerie feeling and a shiver ran down his spine. It didn't help that he saw a limousine outside the orphanage and that Mrs. Ewina called him to her office.

Closing the door so that no one would disturb them, Syaoran saw two tall, dark hair adults, a female and male. Something about their aura disturbed him and he didn't like it. It was cold and the air was still.

"Li, this is Mr. Xie Li and Mrs. Hayue Li, your distant aunt and uncle. Apparently, they lived in America and found out your parents' death about a month ago. They would like to adopt you and take you back to Hong Kong," Mrs. Ewina informed.

"It's nice to finally meet my nephew. You know, we have a lot of family catching up to do," Mr. Li spoke up. "Family do have to stick together."

"They know all about your inheritance and everything. From now on, they'll be your guardians, and I called your parents' lawyer. He said that your inheritance would be safe in the bank until you turn eighteen. The will specifically said that only you could touch it," Mrs. Ewina added.

Out of the corner of Syaoran's amber eyes, he saw his aunt and uncle's monotone expression quickly flash to anger, frustration, and simply evil and changed back to expressionless.

"Must I go?" Syaoran said through the clench of his teeth.

"Well, yes. They want to adopt you and nothing looks wrong in their background. Besides, they're your family," Mrs. Ewina said, shocked at the question.

"When will I be going?" he asked, looking down to the floor.

"Immediately," Xie replied instantly.

"What? You don't expect me to leave all my friends without saying good-bye!" Syaoran shouted, glaring at his uncle.

"Well, go say good-bye. I'm sure they're all around here, playing in this house," Hayue spoke up impatiently.

"I don't have any friends here," the boy grunted.

"That's right. Li has made friends with the Kinomoto and Daidouji's daughters as well as another orphan, but he was adopted," Mrs. Ewina explained calmly.

"Kinomoto? Isn't that the mayor here?"

"Daidouji is the last name of the famous toy company. You don't certainly mean them."

"I do. They're my friends! And tomorrow's Sakura's birthday party!" Syaoran complained loudly.

"I don't know how you became acquaintances with such high status people, but I'm sorry, but we have plane tickets for tonight," Xie told him sternly. "You will not behavior this way towards me, you got that, Syaoran?"

"But-"

"You will forget about them. Forget about this life. You are to never see them again, you hear me? Never contact them or anything. I am being kind enough to adopt you and this is how you treat me?" Xie uttered, almost about to explode.

"Syaoran…go with them. You'll have a better life. I'll tell Kinomoto and the others tomorrow," Mrs. Ewina said softly.

Grunting, his cold exterior had reemerged as he stomped into his room to pack the few measly belongs he had. This was good-bye.

'I'm so sorry Sakura. Please forgive me and remember our promise. I love you,' he thought, hoping that somehow, she could hear that as a plane flew up the air.

**XXXXX**

It was almost eleven o'clock at night. Sakura was tumbling in her pink bed. Something didn't feel right. Like the few times she couldn't sleep, she would gaze out into the sky. Tonight, her emerald eyes saw the crystal shining stars and the bright luminescent moon. Suddenly, a bright flashing light caught her attention. It was a plane! She unconsciously gazed at the plane until it was a tiny dot to the eye and then gone.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **Er…short, fast action chapter. SORRY! But things are moving now. As to the couple…you'll just have to see how my brain is going to unravel this story later.

PLEASE REVIEW!


	16. Into the Future

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter XVI

--Into the Future—

Sakura was happily playing with the necklace that Syaoran had given her for her birthday. She couldn't wait to see him again once she, Eriol, and Tomoyo picked him up at the orphanage after school. Nothing could go wrong on a gorgeous clear blue-sky day with the sun shining down.

_From the school to the orphanage didn't take long. Maybe five minutes. Once Sakura heard the screeching tires stop, the three middle schoolers hopped out and headed to go find Syaoran._

"_Oh, Sakura, I presume you're here to get Syaoran, right?" Mrs. Ewina asked immediately once they stepped. She seemed a little fidgety as sweat dripped from her._

"_Yes! Today's my birthday party, Mrs. Ewina. Do you know where he is?" Sakura naively asked._

"_Actually, that's why I'm here. Why don't we sit down for a moment? You too Tomoyo, Eriol," Mrs. Ewina ordered fondly._

"_Is something wrong?" Eriol spoke up._

_The orphanage manager took a deep breath. "Yesterday, I found out that Syaoran has relatives, and his relatives adopted him. They were very urgent to take him and leave so they left yesterday night to Hong Kong. He wanted to tell you guys, but…but there wasn't time. I'm sorry."_

_Sparkling tears form in Sakura's sad emerald eyes. "Gone…?" she whispered, trying to put a brave face._

_Tomoyo hugged her best friend. "We all miss him, Sakura. I know you loved him the most so it's harder on you," she said kindly._

_Eriol stood up silently without saying anything. Yes he was shock. Yes he was sad, but most importantly, his best friend was gone._

"_I'm sure we'll meet up again in the future," the navy hair boy stated softly and firmly. "We're all supposed to be best friends 'til the end right?"_

_The two girls nodded as Sakura began sobbing, and Tomoyo just held her tighter, patting her back._

"_We should probably get going. Thank you for telling us, Mrs. Ewina." Eriol bowed and waited for the other two to get up._

_On the way back to the Sakura's house, the auburn hair girl had managed to stop bawling, but her eyes were puffy and red and filled with sadness. Tomoyo's uniform was partially damp, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered now that Sakura's happiness._

"_Maybe he'll write to you," Tomoyo spoke up, trying to cheer up Sakura._

"_Or he'll call you," Eriol added._

_The girl forced a small smile and then looked down at her feet._

Weeks passed that turned into months. No call, no letters, no nothing. Her happiness genuine happiness seemed to have faded away. Once a month, she would disappear, the fourteenth to be exact, to sit under cherry blossom trees, waiting as if he would magically appear and hug her and kiss her. The girl never moved on to another guy because of one single chain around her neck. It was their promise, her promise ring, and she was going to wait because of him or go and try to find him in Hong Kong…

"He's in Hong Kong," a young woman muttered in her sleep.

"Sakura, wake up. We're here!" another woman spoke up, shaking her best friend.

"Wah? Did I sleep in?" The young woman had long auburn hair that went to the middle of her back. Two long side bangs accentuated her perfect face, bringing out her big sad emerald pools. She wore black jeans with a pink tank top and pink high-heels.

"Haha. No silly. We're in Hong Kong now! The plane just landed." The other young woman had long wavy raven hair that went to her butt. Her amethyst eyes filled with excitement. She had on white jeans and a light blue spaghetti strap top. "You were muttering again, by the way."

"Hooee. Really? I remember dreaming about the day when Syaoran left," Sakura told her softly.

"Again?" Tomoyo raised a brow. "You were whispering 'he's in Hong Kong' again. Anyway, we have to go find Eriol, then get our luggage, and go to the university."

Sakura had an evil smile on her face. "I bet you're happy to be seeing him again. It's been quite awhile, huh?"

The raven hair girl blushed. "Since Christmas to be exact. It's not my fault that he's two years older than us."

Getting out of the plane, they immediately saw a young man with neat navy hair, dark midnight blue eyes behind a pair of glasses with the infamous Cheshire smile on his face. He was wearing baggy jeans and a white shirt with tennis shoes.

"Eriol!" Tomoyo ran up to him and gave him a hug.

"Hello, darling. These are for you." He handed her a bouquet of fresh flowers.

Emerald eyes watched the happy couple in silent and wished she didn't have to watch but to experience it.

"Hi Eriol. Thanks for picking us up," Sakura uttered once the two broke apart.

"No problem. Besides, we can't have two lovely ladies getting lost in Hong Kong now. Who knows what'll happen, especially to a couple of freshmen," Eriol remarked.

That's right. The two young ladies were starting college. Six torturing years had pass. The two females had developed a nice body each with the right curves and whatnot. Eriol had acquired some muscle from working out with a tad five o'clock shadow. All three had become quite tall, Eriol the tallest of course.

"I can probably outrun those creeps," Sakura said confidently as they walked toward the baggage claim.

"Yes, you might, considering you got an athletic scholarship for track, but what about me?" Tomoyo inquired, pointing to her arm where there was no muscle.

"I'm sure your lovely singing voice could distract them," Sakura retorted before giggling.

"Very funny."

"I'm getting thirsty. I'm going to go get a drink," Sakura told the others as she walked off toward a soda machine.

"So he's here, isn't here?" Tomoyo quickly whispered to Eriol.

"Yeah, but I've told you, he's not exactly the same," he replied. "He's just like the old Syaoran at the beginning, but a hundred times colder and meaner, and he's known as Xiao Lang from his Chinese name."

"So you've talked to him?" Tomoyo questioned.

Eriol nodded his head. "Only because I am his roommate. He wants to know where the Clow Cards are and keeps muttering about it. Of course I don't know his intention, but I couldn't tell him because the Li family is very wealthy and powerful apparently. They know magic. I haven't met his family, but no doubt the ones who adopted him know something."

"Poor Sakura…" Tomoyo said, looking at where Sakura was. She was yelling at the machine because it wouldn't take her dollar.

"We mustn't tell her any of this. Just let it play out," Eriol demanded. Over the course of the six years, Eriol had developed strange memories and powers, which led to where the Clow Cards were released, and Sakura capturing them and transforming them to Sakura Cards. "One thing is that when they meet, and if Syaoran finds out about the Sakura Cards, he cannot lay hands on them until he defies his family. I sense evil from them."

Tomoyo just nodded. Why couldn't Sakura have a nice, good life instead of a confusing, painful, so many decisions life?

"I finally got one!" Sakura shouted successfully, taking a sip of Diet Coke. "So Eriol, you haven't spotted Syaoran yet?"

Both the other two winced, but Sakura took no heed. "Well, I just haven't had time with school, my job. Plus, the Li's are very famous and busy people. Who knows where they could be? I don't even watch the news that much so I don't know how their life is either," Eriol fibbed horribly, but luckily, the freshmen bought it.

Playing with her necklace, she whispered, "I hope I find him. I hope he'll keep his promise."

Tomoyo and Eriol looked at each other. 'Uh oh. For Sakura's sake, God, don't be cruel anymore.'

**XXXXX**

"ARRRH!" a tall, muscular young man charged forward at a tall, buff man. The young man attempted a punch, but the man saw it coming and dodged, only to come up behind and kick the young man. The young man's rapid hostile amber eyes saw the leg come behind but stepped aside, grab the leg and threw the man across the room.

THUMP!

"Ouch! Not too shabby," the man said in a deep voice.

The young man had messy chestnut hair that went almost to his eyes and smirked. The man took the hand that the chestnut hair young man offered.

"You're getting better every day, Xiao Lang."

"Thanks," he grunted distantly. Xiao Lang was had a white sleeveless T-shirt, revealing his tight muscles and black baggy workout pants. He was barefoot.

"Now that you're almost going to be turning twenty-one soon, that means that the clan will be yours," the Elder said. "You should be very happy that Xie found you or else you wouldn't be here. Once you're the clan leader, we're going to have to find you a bride, but that will be after you obtain the Clow Cards."

"How can I?" he said harshly. "I don't know anything about them or where they are."

"The Elders and I have found out that apparently Clow created reincarnations of himself before he died." The Elder now saw down on the sparring room Indian style.

Xiao Lang joined him. "Reincarnations?"

"Yes. He made two. Why? We don't know. Who? We only know one. His name is Fujitaka Kinomoto."

Hearing that name, Xiao Lang immediately flinched and his amber eyes widen.

"I see you have heard of him. No surprise since you did live the in the town that he is mayor of. We sent someone over there, but he sensed faint magic. We doubt that he knew much."

"And how is that going to help me?" Xiao Lang asked nonchalantly.

"Well, we just know that he has reincarnations. I'm sure you'll find the cards soon. If you haven't noticed, you won't have to look very far because I sense a very light pink aura here. He must have powerful magic because I can't feel it now."

"Pink?" Xiao Lang repeated in a monotone voice surprised that he didn't sense it.

"Yes. I think I should be going now." The Elder stood up and walked out the door. "I see you tomorrow for training."

Xiao Lang stood up and took out his necklace, which transformed to his sword and began practicing. "Sakura…" he muttered before shaking his head.

That was six years ago. She'd probably moved on and everything. He knew friendship didn't last. It was so painful in the beginning, but now he knew. He knew not to ever expect much from people for you can't trust anyone but yourself. His cold, hard exterior and interior returned. This time it will last and no one could change that. The Elders and his uncle made sure of that training him harshly, almost to the point of death.

Moving to Hong Kong, meeting them, Xiao Lang had learned so many things about his family like how his parents were the leaders of the Li clan. His sisters, yes sisters, a great number of years older, were in college with his aunt and uncle in America. They were in America when he was born. News about the death only arrived after the youngest daughter had graduated. The news came from the Elders after they rebuilt the whole Li clan, now needing a leader, which was going to be Xiao Lang. It took a few years to get to where they were six years ago. Now everything will be back to normal once he turned twenty-one minus the whole Clow Cards ordeal.

Of course one thing bugged him the most. When he was eighteen, his inheritance was supposed to be his. He was going to save it in a saving account, but when he was at the bank, there was only about $500,000,000. Last he checked, he was suppose to have somewhere in the billions.

There was something sneaky about this whole Li clan.

"ARGGG!" He swung his sword, practicing his technique. "I must concentrate." He had to get this stress out of him, especially the Clow Cards.

While he was doing a move in the air, a picture of a young Sakura appeared in his mind and messed him up.

"What the heck?" He cursed under his breath. "Why am I thinking of her all of the sudden? The last time I've thought about her was five years ago."

'And the time when Hiiragizawa showed up in your dorm with a picture of Daidouji and her,' his brain taunted.

That's right. Hiiragizawa. Since it was summer break, he wanted to get far away from him. All he did was remind him of the past. The painful past that led him to where he was now. Plus, he was annoying and kept on saying how he was his best friend no matter what. That was childish, a lifetime ago. It didn't help how he would mention random little things about Kinomoto and Daidouji.

"RAGH!" Training was the only thing that could relieve his mind.

After about an hour, a familiar, annoying feminine voice rang through the house. "XIAO LANG!"

"Oh shoot." He muttered some words under his breath and his sword returned to a necklace.

"XIAO LANG!" The door slammed open, revealing a tall young woman. She had amber eyes like Syaoran. Her dark long hair was tied in a tight bun with two chopsticks crossing to make an 'X' that went quite well with her Chinese dress. "Ah ha! I knew you'd be in here."

"What do you want Shiefa?" he asked abruptly with annoyance.

"You know what today is! You're supposed to go with Takuma to the tailor's to fit your suit for the wedding! You're late!" She crossed her arms while glaring at him. "You're my brother, his groomsman. Whether you like it or not, I want my wedding to be perfect!"

Xiao Lang gulped. Women and their weddings. "I forgot. Just had too many things on my mind. Sorry. I'll head out there now."

Shiefa, the youngest of his sisters and the most bipolar, calmed down. "It's fine. Just go now. Maybe afterwards, you and Takuma can get to know each other some more."

There was something about his sisters that he couldn't say 'no' to and vacantly nodded his head, grimacing, following his sister out the door to change and head out.

**XXXXX**

Sakura, Tomoyo, and Eriol had just completed moving all the girls' things to their dorm. The dorm was about half the size of Tomoyo's room, but spacious enough to fit two beds, two bureaus, two bookcases, a large closet, and a bathroom.

When the last box was plopped to the grayish-white carpet, all three heard a clamorous growl.

"Well, I'm hungry," Sakura spoke up, rubbing her tummy with a slight blush.

"Me too. Let's go eat at a nice restaurant," Tomoyo acceded.

"Looks like it's unanimous. I know a great place. It's sort of far, but the food is the best."

"If it's that good, then it's worth the wait, right Sakura?" The auburn hair girl dumbly nodded. All she wanted was grub in her tummy.

Eriol drove them to a restaurant called 'Mix'. Their food had a blend of everything around the world from Eastern food to Western.

It was a famous restaurant in that region so the restaurant would be pack at lunchtime and dinner, but luckily for them, it was in the middle of the afternoon. As the three waited for a table, Sakura observed her surroundings.

It was a fairly large restaurant. Two stories to be exact. On a sign near the entrance, it stated that the first floor was an Asian theme base design while the second was more Western. There was even a balcony to eat on the top floor. From what Sakura could see, the walls on the bottom floor were a dark jade color with various Asian plants around the room. There were dark red curtains decorating the room. The booths and chairs were black except the seat of the chairs was red. A nice clean white tablecloth was placed on top of the fine tables with spices in the middle.

"Hello! Welcome to Mix! Would you like a table on the first or second floor?" a chirpy hostess asked. She wore a simple black knee-length skirt and a white blouse.

"First is fine," Eriol replied, as she ushered them toward an open table.

**XXXXX**

Xiao Lang and his soon to be brother-in-law were sitting at a booth, waiting patiently for their food to arrive. They came from the tailor and everything there was perfect for the wedding.

"Xiao Lang, Shiefa told me about your coronation coming up. So do you have a special lady that you want to spend the rest of your life with or will it be an arrange marriage?"

The chestnut hair boy glared into Takuma's dark eyes. He didn't want to talk about this subject.

"Out of all the things," he grumbled.

Not paying attention, Takuma continued on, "I think you shouldn't be in an arrange marriage, personally. Everyone on earth has someone special they're meant to be with. Have you met anyone special to you yet?"

Xiao Lang's amber eyes didn't flinch as a certain auburn hair girl reflected in his mind. "A long time ago, but that doesn't matter. Everyone will leave each other in this life. What's the point in having so much pain over that?"

"So you have? Hmph. And love cures everything, Xiao Lang. I know from experience. Just think about it some more. I have to use the john."

Once Takuma left, Xiao Lang dumbly played with his drink. Love is ambivalent. He had more pain than happiness from it. It's all a matter of luck. Those who were lucky ended up with their soulmate. Those who aren't, they just suffer. He was an unlucky one.

Suddenly, a loud gasp broke his thoughts. It was so mundane now because everywhere he went no one seemed to expect to see the Xiao Lang in public.

Harshly, he turned to the fan only to meet emerald orbs.

"It is you, Syaoran…" the 'fan' whispered.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **SOO it's a cliffy! But you have to give me props for updating.

PLEASE REVIEW!


	17. Awkward Reacquaintances

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter XVII

-- Awkward Re-acquaintances--

"It is you, Syaoran…" the 'fan' whispered.

Syaoran. It was peculiar to hear his old Japanese name ring through his ears as he stared into the unforgettable emerald eyes that haunted him every day. The owner of those unique eyes had changed quite a lot physically, but somehow he knew she was still the same Sakura.

"Do you remember me?" Sakura whispered as she began to shiver from the intense amber orbs glaring at her.

'Syaoran, what happened to you?' she wondered.

Suddenly, another pair of familiar eyes captured his attention except this time it was amethyst with Eriol next to her.

"Sa-Ki-kinomoto," Syaoran choked out, continuing to glare at the girl.

Tomoyo and Eriol gave each other all know glances of worry as they watched the seen unfold. Who knew that they would meet up so soon?

"Hi Syaoran," the raven hair young woman spoke up softly.

"It's Li to you, to both of you!" he barked immediately, taking his gaze away from Sakura. "What are you two doing here anyway?"

"They're going to be attending Hong Kong University with us starting this fall," Eriol piped up, plastering his infamous Cheshire grin.

Xiao Lang sent Eriol a 'why didn't you tell me sooner' look as he wanted to get up and punch Eriol.

"So how are you, Sy-Li?" Sakura timidly asked, bowing her head down so that he wouldn't see the hurt and the sadness in her dim emerald orbs.

"Fantastic. Everything's fantastic now that I don't have to live in that stupid orphanage and spend my time with losers like you three." Every word Xiao Lang barked, it pained Sakura's ears.

Sakura's dim emerald orbs began to water as she shut her eyes tightly, bit her pink bottom lip, and took a deep breath. "I'm glad you're doing well, Li. I was really worried about you when you left, but it looks like you're fine. I'll see you around then."

At that precise moment, Takuma came back from the restroom to see Sakura running out of the double doors with Tomoyo and Eriol trailing behind. Takuma's dark eyes landed to Xiao Lang playing dumbly with his drink as his eyes stared at the double doors.

"Xiao Lang, what just…?" Takuma asked, sitting back down.

"Nothing, but I don't feel well. I think I'm going to go home if you don't mind," Xiao Lang grumbled, standing up with his brown bangs hovering over his eyes.

Sighing, Takuma stood up also to leave. The three people who had just left played in his mind. 'They're probably just fan people, right?'

"Hey Xiao Lang, want me to give you a ride home? I want to stop in and say hi to Shiefa."

Xiao Lang shook his head. "I think I'll just walk home. It's just a few blocks away."

"A few blocks and a mile of a street!" Takuma blurted out. "Nothing doesn't seem right when you're acting like this. I've never seen you like this. What did those people do to you?"

"Nothing! Just leave me and my life alone!" Xiao Lang stomped out of the restaurant, making a scene.

He cursed under his breath for the first few minutes, ignoring the stares and whispers around him. Luckily, no fans had decided to chase him down and ask for an autograph.

'Why now of all days? I think about her for the first time in months, and I meet her again. What are the odds of that?' Xiao Lang closed his eyes. Sakura's image flickered in his mind for a second, and he punched the first inanimate object he saw – a wall. That instant, his bad day was beginning to just get worse as the rain began plummeting down. Everyone took for cover or if they were smart enough, had an umbrella with them and popped it up.

Honkkkkk! Honk! Honk!

Being the city, the young man slumping on the streets with a bloody hand figured it was traffic. But after a constant thirty seconds of honking and a shout, he realized it was for him.

Takuma was in his silver Lexus, sending Xiao Lang a stern look. "Get in and I'll take you home now."

Reluctantly, he succumbed, placing the ends of his shirt around his bleeding hand so he wouldn't leave an unwanted stain on the luxurious vehicle.

Neither of them spoke during the ten-minute ride. Xiao Lang was grumbling under his breath while Takuma quietly pondered about the mysterious 'fan' girl and her connection to Xiao Lang.

Xiao Lang hardly ever showed emotion. He always had a stoic countenance except for the few times when it involved his family. That girl wasn't anybody. That girl wasn't a nobody. That girl was something, someone he deduced.

Once they arrived to the mansion, Xiao Lang angrily trudged to inside with Takuma following. Once the emotionless young man entered his home, he attempted to make a dash toward his workout room Wei appeared and immediately held him back.

"Get your hand off of me!" he grunted.

"Young master, where do you think you're going? The bathroom's the other way," the old man said sternly.

"How did…?"

"I called him before I picked you up," Takuma answered.

"I forbid you from training for the rest of the day. I know your mind is troubling you but I won't let you hurt yourself," Wei instructed in a fatherly manner, as Xiao Lang headed towards the bathroom.

"I ensure you'll keep an eye on him?" Takuma questioned.

"Of course. Maybe I'll be able to figure out why he's so, after all, he entrusts me with some of his feelings."

"Then, do you know about his past love?"

"Like I said, he entrusts me and only me, so I can't say what I know or don't know," Wei replied.

Takuma took that as a yes and went off to find Shiefa to tell her of the mysterious fan girl and Xiao Lang's behavior.

Meanwhile, with Xiao Lang, he completely washed his bloody hand and was now bandaging it…well, trying to. He kept on dropping the white bandages and it unrolled. Cursing, he tried to roll it back and try again but it was no use.

"Need help, young master?" Wei's voice entered Xiao Lang's ears.

Sighing in defeat and frustration, he handed the bandages to Wei.

"What was it this time, Xiao Lang?" Wei asked calmly as he slowly began bandaging the raw hand.

Xiao Lang kept quiet, refusing to look at Wei. Wei was the only one who he respected, who he had confident trust in, and whom he could share everything with. Maybe that's why he was sane and hadn't totally gone mad from his life.

"Takuma said there was a girl involved. I hope she wasn't another fan girl."

"She wasn't."

"Oh?"

Unconsciously, his locked emotions began stirring out as a sincere countenance showed. "She was someone from my childhood. She wasn't someone. No, she was a friend, but not just any friend."

Images from his childhood began playing in his head. The time when he first met her. The time when they spent the New Year's together. The time when she invited him to her birthday. The many other infinite memories that he had of her.

Realizing what was happening, he snapped back into reality and wanted to bang his head on something. Looking at Wei, he shouted, "I hate her!"

Startled, Wei asked why.

"Because…because people are never to be together. People into your lives and then walk out. No one ever stays, even if they say so, they always break their word!"

Wei knew whom he was talking about because Xiao Lang had only spoken of so many friends in his childhood. Three to be exact, but he never gave the names except for one: Eriol. It was only because they were roommates now unexpectedly. He had met the young Eriol once; maybe he could help unravel this haunting past. This _girl_ was the same girl that he had loved…maybe still love. He might be old but with wisdom comes with age.

**XXXXX**

With Sakura, Tomoyo, and Eriol, Tomoyo decided that they would have a home-cook meal, therefore Eriol had to take them to the grocery store. Sakura had calmed down, stop crying, but she was still hurt. She sat patiently thinking in the car, enjoying the quiet except for the pitter pattering of the rain.

He promised her that they'd be together no matter what. He promised. She guessed that he had forgotten her. He probably found himself a girlfriend too. Sakura shook her head. She didn't want to think things like this. She didn't want to believe any of this stuff, but then again…she didn't know what to believe anymore. It had taken her quite awhile to open Syaoran but now he was cold, colder than before, and meaner than before.

Forcing herself to smile, she had another goal. She was going to try once more. She didn't care if he never loved her again, if their relationship in the past will never be the same at least they could still be friends. She could get over him, she really could. She could move on, but one thing she could never do is loose him. She wanted to at least be his friend because loosing him, she would feel as if a part of her was gone. She would loose the most important person she has…had?

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LONG UPDATE!!! And I'm really sorry for this chapter being so short, but I'm losing my interest in this story...maybe it's because I'm losing interest in Fanfiction, but I also don't have time. My main concern is high school now. I have to consider my future so my time needs to be placed on that. I might update but I might not so it's undecided at the moment. I AM TRULY SINCERELY SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I think the best I can do is summarize what I was gonna write so that way you guys can have an idea. Respond to me w/e you want/think.


	18. Search for Clow Cards and a Little More

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter XVIII

--Search for Clow Cards and a Little More—

A young man with chestnut hair cursed loudly for the umpteenth that day. He threw an ancient book that was near him toward the wall out of frustration. The book banged loudly and landed with a thump.

Nothing! There was nothing in these journals, maps, or anything that once belonged to Clow Reed!

For the past month now, Xiao Lang had locked himself in the family library assiduously researching about Clow Reed for any sorts of clues that might led to the whereabouts of the second reincarnation, thus leading to the Clow Cards. Xiao Lang also kept his senses pervading his surroundings in order to feel the pink aura whenever it may suddenly appear, but haplessly, the mysterious person had concealed his aura. Maybe the person wasn't in Hong Kong anymore. Xiao Lang found it amusing that a guy would have a pink aura. He concluded that the man was very girly.

Grudgingly, Xiao Lang got off his comfortable leather chair and walked toward the ancient book that he had thrown across the room. There were pages that flew out if its binding, which made Xiao Lang curse again, running a hand through his chestnut hair. Out of all the books, he just had to throw one that he had not even had the chance to look out. Now he had to spend who knows how long finding where the loose pages belong.

When Xiao Lang finished collecting the fallen pages, he grabbed the book and began sorting the pages out, but the loose pages did not seem to belong in the book. The loose pages and the pages in the book had different textures and different sizes. Putting the loose papers aside, he flipped through book to find a few more loose pages inside. He gathered them up and skimmed through the loose pages, wondering why Clow would do such a thing.

These pages, they were an outline of Clow's schedule: 'Travel to Kyoto', 'bookstore in Kyoto', 'home', 'open book', etc. His schedule bothered Xiao Lang, all the little 'to-do' things were stupid! How could the world's best magician be so…incompetent without a list? The list wasn't even that good except for maybe the part where it said 'reincarnation' and 'death' in big bolded letters.

Wait a moment…!

Possibly Clow had decided to visit all these places before deciding where his reincarnations should be born. That made sense. Check out the nice location for his two spirits to live peacefully and enjoy life.

Xiao Lang grabbed a piece of paper and pen. Quickly skimming through the pages, he wrote down all the cities that Clow visited before his death and where Clow went in those cities. Then, he ran to go tell the Elders of his theory.

This was going to be a very long summer, Xiao Lang thought, sighing.

**XXXXX**

Amber eyes glared at the sheet of paper in front of him. He took a pen and crossed out the last thing on the list, temple in Beijing. Nothing! No clues in any of these places! The last thing on Clow's list before his death was 'home' and home was were Xiao Lang was returning but in complete failure, not success like everyone in the clan was hoping for.

"We are now landing in Hong Kong. Please fasten your seat belts as we descend," a high pitch voice announced.

Xiao Lang crumbled the sheet of paper and stuffed in down his pockets before obediently fastening his seatbelt. Looking out the window, he saw the fluffy white clouds pass by. The little moving cars and little block like houses made him feel as if he was a kid again, but he wasn't a kid.

Xiao Lang felt his pulse speed up slightly as the plane sunk a few meters of altitude. His racing pulse was not due to the plane ride but due to the arrival to Hong Kong. His stoic personality usually did not vacillate but returning home as a failure on his own hutch. The Elders were not going be pleased. The only clue Xiao Lang had left was the pink aura if the mysterious person was still in Hong Kong.

Roughly ten minutes later, the plane had landed safely. Jetlagged, Xiao Lang stood up to stretch, waiting for the passengers in front of him to obtain their personal belongings and leave. It did not take long for his turn to obtain his carry-on and leave the plane.

Travelers and workers were hastily bustling through the busy airport trying to get to their destination. Xiao Lang's amber eyes roamed the scene to search for a familiar face.

"Master Li! Over here!" shouted a senior man.

Xiao Lang's lips couldn't help but curve a teeny tiny bit upward. It was nice to see a familiar, warming person after his debacle trip. "Hi Wei."

"How was your trip? Did it go well?" Wei asked immediately once the two of them were in the car with Wei driving them make to the Li mansion.

Xiao Lang did not reply. Wei took that long silence as an obvious 'no', and continued on his fatherly manner, "It's not like the Elders know anything about the Clow Cards either. Your hunch is better than what they had to offer to help you. You will find them one day, I am sure. You will be the next leader of the Clan without fail, just like your father. Besides, consider your travels as a vacation away from your sister's wedding. She's been going ballistic because you were gone for over two months. She'll be happy to know that you're alive with all your feet to walk down the aisle on Saturday."

"Great, another thing to worry about next to the Elders," Xiao Lang grumbled under his breath. Maybe it would've been better if he'd lost his two feet. Perhaps they would've given him sympathy instead of anxiety.

The rest of the car ride, no one spoke. The only sound came from the cars zooming by and the engine of the car.

In half an hour, the two arrived at the front black gates with the Li insignia leading to the Li mansion. Wei casually pressed a button and the gates opened with a two-minute drive to the front doors of the mansion. The moment Li opened the doors of his home, his enjoying moment of silence ended.

"Xiao Lang! You're finally home! We have to go through some more wedding details. I want it to be perfect on Saturday!" his sister demanded with her wedding planner following her in long stride confident steps.

"Mr. Li! It's so nice to finally meet you. If you ever need a wedding planner, here's my card," Shiefa's wedding planner boldly stated.

"Hey Xiao Lang. Welcome back," Takuma managed to utter in a friendly manner.

"Xiao Lang, the Elders want to speak to you now," a firm voice broke through the chaos.

Xiao Lang stared at an Elder in his eye to show that he had no fear. He wasn't afraid of the Elders.

Grumbling to his sister, he said, "You can talk about your wedding after, alright Shiefa?"

"That's fine. The Elders come first after all," she commented, sounding a little distant. "We'll be in the family room, Xiao Lang."

Dragging his legs to follow the Elder, Xiao Lang did not show a hint of emotion. He blocked it like he had done for the majority of his life after that unfortunate day of leaving Japan. He was not going to let the Elders see his emotion, nonetheless show them how weak he was because he wasn't.

The two walked down the dim, cold stone spiral stairs to the lower floors underground, the Elders courtiers. After the courtiers, it led to a dungeon like door. Behind it, a richly elegant decorated vast room. It was a fancy room. A nice dark red carpet that felt like velvet complimented the golden-brown sofas, chairs, and coffee table on the left of the room. In a corner was an office desk with a leather chair for someone to take notes or organize their schedule.

In the back, a matching red carpet hallway in the back led to the Elders living courtiers. No one…_no one_ outside of the Elders had seen that secretive area.

All twelve Elders minus the one leading Xiao Lang were sitting on the chairs or sofas when he arrived. The last one took a sit as the young man stood in front of them, their black beady eyes staring down on Xiao Lang's stoic countenance.

"Xiao Lang, have you found the Clow Cards?" the head of the Elders spoke first, getting straight to the point.

"No. It seems that Clow's list was just an ordinary travel guide," he briefly stated, not flinching but deep down, he was slightly afraid of his failure.

"I see. You realize that if you fail to obtain those cards, you will not be able to fully be known as the clan leader. To the public, yes, but in the eyes of your family, you are not. The Misaki family can steal away the clan title from you if they find the Clow Cards before you. The Clow Cards were thought to be in the hands of the Li but no one knew where Clow hid them, but one day, this device reacted. It only does when the Clow Cards are released. The Misaki family knows about this and they have their eldest son searching for the Clow Cards too. They are very powerful, more than family magic taught in the families."

Xiao Lang looked at the device that another Elder held. It was a simple board that one would think would be a game board. A clear glass box was sealed over the board so that the magical silver ball would be safe and not contaminate the magic. The ball usually sat in the middle of the board, but when it was released, it moved to the green corner (the cards were released). Then the ball moved to the yellow corner (someone has a card). A little over half a year later, the ball moved to the red corner (someone has all the cards). Sometime after, possibly a year, the ball moved to gray (where are the cards!?).

He knew this lecture because the Elders would repeat it so Xiao Lang zoned off, nodding along when he heard something important.

"Finally, if this person were to realize the Clow ancestry, he would be able to take us down and claim the clan."

"Don't worry. I have a year until I am twenty-one. I will make sure that I will beat the Misaki family. I will find them."

"We have faith it you. Now it is up to you to keep up to that promise."

Once Xiao Lang was dismissed, he felt a heavier burden. One year wasn't a long time. He was going to go to school soon after his sister's wedding. Without taking the time to unpack, he went straight to the family room for the last preparations. The wedding was in two days. Fortunately, Shiefa was a Li, the catering, flowers, church, everything managed to be unstressful and a success. At least something seemed to go right.

The only thing that Xiao Lang had to be there for was for the wedding and the reception. Lucky him, he got to be one of the two to make a speech, which he still hadn't worked on. Knowing Shiefa, she'll bark at his neck until he wrote something nice that would make her go 'aww'.

In the family room, it seemed that the wedding planner had left and only the bride and groom were left.

"What is it you want, Shiefa? I know how to walk down the aisle. I know when I have to walk down the aisle. What more do I have to know?" Xiao Lang asked innocently.

"The speech! Don't tell me you forgot! That's more important than walking down the aisle for you! You can't leave my sight until you've written something. There's a pad and pencil right here. It better be something nice too, nothing conniving," she demanded, crossing her arms while glaring at her brother.

"Shiefa, I promise I will have something. Trust me. I just don't want to worry about this now. It won't be conniving because you're my sister and it's your special day that I won't ruin," he smiled sincerely.

Shiefa sighed and gave in. She knew that he rarely smiled and if he did, they were always sincere. It was like a silent promise, and Xiao Lang never broke any of those.

"Shiefa, is our dear brother home?" a familiar, perky voice echoed the house.

"Oh no! You didn't!" Xiao Lang groaned, glaring at Shiefa.

"What?" she asked innocently. "I want us to have some family time before my wedding. We want to know how your trip went."

"Yup yup," another sister agreed, as three tall, beautiful black hair women walked in with their husbands following along.

"Hey Takuma, how about we go play some golf while the Li's have their family time?" Fanran's husband suggested, grinning.

Xiao Lang gave a pleading look toward Takuma, whom he was closest too out of the four.

"See you later. Bye Shiefa." Takuma swept down to give Shiefa a quick kiss before leaving, closing the door behind him.

'I hate you. All against me,' Xiao Lang thought.

"You want to know about my trip, right?" Xiao Lang reminded.

"Well…somewhat," Feimi said slowly.

"More like," Fuutie began.

"Did you meet…" Fanran continued.

"A girl?!" Shiefa shouted.

'Here we go again.'

"NO. I hate women, except for my sisters," he quickly stated.

"Not that again!" Fuutie whined.

"What about this 'fangirl' that Takuma told me about?" Shiefa added.

"Oohh, a fangirl? What's this about Shiefa?" all three of his sisters chimed in.

"Apparently, Takuma took Xiao Lang out to lunch one day, and they bumped into another 'fangirl', but unlike the numerous fangirls Xiao Lang usually leaves in the mud, he was pretty upset afterwards. Punched a brick wall and came home with a bloody hand," Shiefa informed.

"So who was this, Xiao Lang?" Feimi urged.

"Was this someone from the university that you've secretly have a crush on?" Fanran teased.

"NO. I don't like anyone. Get it through your thick heads!!" Xiao Lang growled. He hated these 'family bonding' moments.

"Okay, maybe you finally have a crush on other girl at the university?" Fuutie asked innocently.

"PAH, those university girls are all annoying jerks who will only use me for my money and fame. Haven't you seen them? They pretend to like me. They pretend to 'love' me but it's all nothing except for maybe one really really annoying girl who can't seem to stop bothering me," Xiao Lang blurted out without thinking.

"Can't seem to stop bother you? What do you mean?" Shiefa questioned.

"Is that a good thing? Maybe she really does like you more than the others," Fanran added.

"Or she's more annoying than those who already fake it. I hate those kinds of people," Feimi suggested.

'Dang it! Where did…How did…I…the stupid traveling and I thought I stopped thinking about her. I hate myself,' Xiao Lang cursed.

"It's nothing. There's no girl. I'm crazy. It was just some weird dream that I had," he fibbed.

"Liar. Your pitch changed," Feimi noticed.

"I bet you do unconsciously like someone," Fuutie declared.

"No. I don't know. NO. NEVER. Just leave me alone!" Xiao Lang stood up and headed towards the door.

"If you like someone, you can never stop thinking about her even if you don't want to. Even you don't want to like her, you can't help but feel an attraction no matter how much you run away. It doesn't matter what you've been taught or what you try to deny, you just can't. You have to embrace the truth and accept it. Maybe if you feel like people will always leave you, your soulmate will never, even when you die. Soulmate. Your souls will be intertwined; you will never feel alone. The one you love will be your soulmate and only yours," Feimi whispered enough for everyone in the room to hear, including Xiao Lang who had his hand on the doorknob.

"I'll see you guys at the wedding. This is enough 'family bonding' for one day," Xiao Lang uttered slowly as he turned the doorknob and left.

"He likes someone," Fanran muttered.

"Obviously," Shiefa whispered.

"It's gotta be that girl," Fuutie concluded. The other three young women nodded.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **Soo, look at this. Here we are again. I updated! I've decided I'm going to finish this story this summer (hopefully) and be done with it. I've decided that it's going to be my last official long fanfiction. Maybe if I have any ideas, I'll return once and awhile with a one-short.

Anyway, hoped you guys enjoyed it. I'd say I'm halfway done, maybe a little more than halfway? IDK, I've always been a bad estimator. XD

Hope you guys are gracious and will review!


	19. Breaking the Ice

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter XIX

--Breaking the Ice—

Amber eyes gazed at the new smiling wife and husband as they plastered on another smile for the camera. The wedding flew by smoothly with no flaws, just as his sister hoped for. Now it was the reception. The room that they had rented in a five-star hotel was filled with over fifty lavishedly decorated tables, a stage, a dance floor, and flowers. Near the entrance of the room was an area for the guests to take pictures with the bride and groom.

Xiao Lang knew that it would take at least an hour for the guests to arrive and be seated. He wanted to bang his head on the wall because he still had yet to come up with a speech for the wedding. Heck, he was the worse person to come up with a speech for a subject of 'love'. Why? Why did his sister pick him?

Then his gazed turn towards the field of cherry blossom trees. The friendly wind blew gently, ruffling the petals to make a majestic sight. It was somehow soothing. It was a sign that he just needed fresh air, clear his thoughts, and be able to come up with something for his sister.

When Xiao Lang was outside, he breathed in the smell of cherry blossoms and closed his eyes. An image of a girl with emerald eyes flickered in his head, and he immediately opened his eyes again. His feet unconsciously continued sauntering leisurely as he began to ponder about Feimei's words two days ago, his suppressed feelings for Sakura, and the speech.

'What is love? What made two people get married? Was it because they were soul mates? Then again, what is a soul mate? Is that what love is?' The thought was confusing Xiao Lang.

'But there are people who say they love someone but also say they love things too besides people. There are people who love more than once, does that mean that they have more than one soul mate? Or does a soul mate occur when you get married? If so, then all my sisters have found their soul mate and they will never be alone. It must be nice,' Xiao Lang concluded. 'I wish I had a soul mate…'

An image of Sakura flickered in his mind again. 'No, no I don't want one. I will be the next leader of the Li Clan, I cannot show any emotion, especially love. Especially if I find the wrong soul mate, it will be torture to spend all of eternity with her.'

"Kenshin! Don't go too far!" a familiar voice burst through his thoughts.

"But Sakura, I can see it. It's right over there! I'll be okay!" a squeaky little kid voice replied.

"Fine, fine, but just stay near me so I can see you." The older person giggled.

Xiao Lang turned his head toward the direction of the voices. He could see a couple bushes rustling very loudly, and a few seconds later, a little boy of perhaps eight jumped out. He had dark hair and vivid blue eyes. The little boy ran toward a blue football, clearly gotten thrown in the field of cherry blossoms by accident. Seconds later, a long auburn hair young woman popped out from the bushes. Leaves and petals from the cherry trees were tangled on her hair but she didn't seem to mind because there was a insouciant smile on her face.

"Okay, we found it. Now let's go back to the orphanage before we worry Eriol, Tomoyo, and everyone else," Sakura declared.

The boy, Kenshin, afraid, ran over towards Sakura and pulled her to his level so he could whisper something. Emerald eyes peered over at Xiao Lang as her eyes widen and her mouth slightly dropped.

"Syaoran," she muttered, dropping her gaze.

"Do you know him, Sakura? Is he a friend like Tomoyo and Eriol?" Kenshin asked, turning around to face Xiao Lang face to face.

"Yes I know him, and we were friends," Sakura whispered.

"Is he a bad guy? Did he hurt you because I'll hurt him!" Without thinking, Kenshin sprinted and lunge his body onto Xiao Lang, who stumbled a little at the surprise but did not fall. Kenshin on the other hand was punching Xiao Lang who was holding onto Kenshin.

"Kenshin!" Sakura scolded, getting up to break Kenshin away from Xiao Lang.

"No! No!" he shouted as Sakura pulled him down to the ground. "I was winning! He wasn't fighting back!"

Sakura gave an apologetic expression to Xiao Lang as she said, "Sorry. He's young and a bit overprotective of me."

"Remind you of someone?" Xiao Lang unexpectedly asked teasingly.

'Where did that come from?'

Sakura was a little taken back from his question, but he sounded friendly enough. She smiled and responded, "Touya. I thought I had gotten rid of him when I left but I guess not."

Xiao Lang smirked. Seems like Touya hadn't changed at all.

"What's with that face?" Sakura stood up with her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

"What face?"

"That infamous smirk of yours!"

"You mean this?" Xiao Lang smirked again teasingly.

Meanwhile, Kenshin was between them, confused. He thought Sakura didn't like him, but they seemed to be getting along.

Sakura hesitated. This was the Syaoran she missed and love. How did he appear again or was he teasing her?

"OK, stop this Li. Why are you here? Why are you acting like this?"

Startled by the turnaround, he became stoic again. "I was just walking around a little to clear my head. I'm attending my sister's reception; it's right at that hotel over there. I get to make a speech later, but I know nothing about love so I wanted to walk around to get some inspiration. I guess my attitude was reflecting what I was contemplating."

"Really? Congratulations for your sister! Mind me asking what exactly you were thinking of?" Sakura tinted her head one way, depicting an image of a curious child.

"Just some things one of my sisters told me, love, and…" he was debating whether or not he should mention that he was thinking about her. "And…I was trying to see if I could remember how I felt about you to comprehend a bit more to make a speech."

"I see…"

"Now, can I ask you a question?" Xiao Lang once more blurted something out unconsciously. It was like a ubiquitous force was controlling him. He hated it! What kind of magically force was doing this? Maybe it was that pink aura guy.

"Sure." Once more, Xiao Lang was baffling her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Me? Oh, there's an orphanage back there. Kenshin here is an orphan. Tomoyo, Eriol, and I decided to make it a goal to come visit them and play with them. Sounds familiar?"

Memories of his childhood drifted through his head. Those happy, happy days before this whole Li Clan came to business. Deep down, he knew he was breaking down ever since his sister's speech, but he wasn't going to give in to this past just yet.

"Yeah, a little."

"Sakura, I'm confused," Kenshin spoke up.

"Oh! I'm sorry! We should really be getting back. Tomoyo and Eriol are going to be wondering why we were so late. I'll see you around the university then, I guess. Bye." With that, Sakura grabbed Kenshin's hand and they both left back in the same direction they came from.

"Thank you, Sakura," Xiao Lang whispered softly. He had a general outline of his speech. Talking to her like that brought back some of his feelings for her. Those feelings he could incorporate in the speech for his sister. He refused to admit that he still loved her, but he would admit that he was changing again.

**XXXXX**

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have never in my life seen two people in love as Sheifa and Takuma. How do I know that? These two have conquered through all the obstacles to arrive to their final destination, getting married to each other. Now the two have another journey together, but this time as one. Their souls have merged as one so that they will never be alone again. Love means sacrifice for the other's happiness. Sheifa and Takuma have done that everyday I've seen them. Takuma always has Sheifa on his mind and vice versa. You know, when I first met Sheifa after my days at the orphanage, I will have to admit that I have never seen her happier than when she is with Takuma. I hope that their inimitable love for each other continue to augment as the days pass by. Here is to the new happy bride and groom." Xiao Lang raised his glass of the finest red wine in the world and everyone in that ballroom raised his or her glasses before taking a sip.

After Xiao Lang's speech, one of Takuma's friends made a speech to congratulate the couple. Once the speech was done, Sheifa whispered in her little brother's ears, "It was a nice speech. Thank you for not failing me," and hugged him.

"No problem. Now, hurry up and go have the first dance with Takuma as a married couple," Xiao Lang hissed back, gently shoving Sheifa in the direction of the dance floor.

"Alright, but I want a dance with you later, little brother."

Xiao Lang sighed. Maybe he could escape now and she won't be able to find him to dance. Or maybe if he were lucky, she would forget. His intense amber eyes relaxed a bit as he saw his sister's cheerful grin as she danced with Takuma. Even his other three sisters seem to be sharing that same cheerful grin as they danced with their husbands. Without any more delay, he quickly went to make a very very "long break" in the bathroom.

**XXXXX**

"Are you sure this will work?" one of the younger Elders asked, sitting stiffly on a chair.

"Of course! If he is still in this city, he will surely use his magic to save the city," another one replied.

"I don't know. The person who controls the Clow Cards may not be a protagonist," an older Elder added.

"We'll just make sure that whatever we conjure up, we can abolish. It's the only plan we have. It's full proof," the one who came up with the plan uttered surely.

"I don't think we should tell Xiao Lang. This can also test his strength and magical skills that we've help developed," another Elder spoke up.

"But it'd be a pity if he were to die. We already took so much trouble with his parent's death," Xie smirked insouciantly.

"Xiao Lang will not die. We need him for the money and name," an Elder stated.

**XXXXX**

A new year at the university arrived a few weeks later. It was the same week that the newlyweds had returned from their honeymoon in Paris, France. Neither Sakura nor Xiao Lang had bumped into each other again after that day. Sakura gave up on the effort unless it was Xiao Lang who started a new relationship with her. Meanwhile, Xiao Lang's cold interior had cracked since the wedding day. He knew of his feelings for Sakura, but it meant nothing of importance for he just missed their friendship. That was it. It was not like he loved her. No, Xiao Lang could never love.

The campus at the university was bustling with lots of students in little groups chattering away as they talked about their summer or classes. Xiao Lang quickly went to his second and last class that day—Chinese History. Like in all of the classes, the room was big to fit over a hundred students, ascending up. A long desk sat in front of an even longer chalkboard for the teacher. A wall full of books sat in the book for students to borrow or skim before or after class.

Since he was earlier, there were only a handful of classmates before him. Taking his trademark seat at the fourth window seat from the front. It took him a few minutes to register that a long auburn hair young woman already took the seat in front of him. Her head seem to be lying peacefully on top of her books, indicating that she was snoozing and was snoring very very faintly.

Annoyed, he stretched his body and 'accidentally' kicked the leg of her chair. That was enough to make her jump up and shout frantically, "I was just resting my eyes!"

That voice made Xiao Lang's amber orbs widen, but her reaction only made him chuckle softly.

The girl looked around stupidly and embarrassed until her eyes landed on a familiar chestnut hair young man.

"Nice nap, Kinomoto?"

Turning redder, she muttered a thank you for waking her up and sat back down. Then she turned around to face the future Li clan leader.

"You're taking this class?" Sakura asked, smiling.

"Yeah, I figured I should for family reasons," he replied ambiguously. "And why are you?"

"I love history. I've already learned about Japanese and American history in high school. I wanted to learn Chinese since they offer it here," she answered. "How was your sister's wedding?"

"It was a happy, memorable day for her. The speech turned out pretty good since she loved it. And I almost got away with not dancing at the end by hiding the in men's restroom until Sheifa stormed into the men's restroom and pulled me out to dance."

Sakura laughed. "But we danced at that winter's dance when we were younger and you enjoyed it!"

Xiao Lang's mind pictured that wonderful night but that was in the past. "That was different. I was naïve and I wanted to…," he stammered. What was he thinking? What did he want? Friendship…to be unlonely…to be loved?

"Wanted to what?" Sakura dug deeper, tilting her head innocently.

"I wanted to…" Xiao Lang didn't know what to say. He didn't know what he was doing. He wasn't thinking, and there was an awkward silence between the two as the classroom filled with more students.

"Xiao Lang! OMG! I want this seat next to him!" a tall pretty young woman shouted. She wore a miniskirt and a tight halter-top.

"I call the seat behind him!" another pretty young woman called.

"Not if I get there first!" another young woman exclaimed, running to get her 'rightful' seat.

Sakura turned around to face the professor who was just entering the classroom to see the boisterous seen. The majority of the young women were fighting over the empty seats that were near Xiao Lang. She was glad that she wasn't in the midst, but she had a feeling that she soon would be if she continued to sit next to Xiao Lang.

'He really wouldn't want to be with me. Look at all the other prettier women. I guess we really have parted…' she thought sadly.

Xiao Lang on the other hand was getting annoyed from the gold-digging women. He stood up and uttered coldly and with a stoic countenance, "Get away from me or else I will put a restriction on all of you. Then we wouldn't even be in the same class."

All of the young women whined but understood. It was better to ogle at Xiao Lang than to never see him.

Sakura thought that his fearful threat was meant for her too so she slowly rose up and was about to leave when the same cold voice mumbled, "You're fine. You can stay."

Baffled but Sakura didn't question his comment and happily sat down as the professor began his lecture.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **Woot! Another chapter done. This one kinda sucks, but I promise you that in the next chapter that the flame will begin again and it will be better quality.

Thanks to everyone, all my loyal readers! I'm continuing and ending this for you guys so please enjoy!

Review please!


	20. Truce

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter XX

--Truce—

"And that is the end of the golden age of the Han Dynasty. Class dismiss," the professor of Chinese History announced when the bell rang.

A month had pass since the start of a new school year at the university. Sakura and Xiao Lang had only one class together, but his attitude towards her was significantly kinder than to the other young women, but their relationship was still not as close as it was before. Meanwhile, Tomoyo, Sakura, and Eriol continued to have a strong friendship together.

Sakura carefully placed her notes and book into her bag neatly before standing up to see Xiao Lang waiting impatiently for her. Sakura could feel her jealous classmates sending glares at her. Some of them already had the nerve to gang up at her to ask about their relationship.

"You know, you shouldn't wait for me. The other girls are glaring at me," Sakura mumbled, looking down.

"So what? They all know the consequences. It's not my fault that you're my study partner for this class," the chestnut hair young man replied rather loudly.

The auburn hair young woman let out a cough and raised her eyebrow while looking boldly into Xiao Lang's amber eyes. The two sauntered out of the classroom, the building, and to the well-kept campus until there was no one in hearing distance.

"Alright, alright, so I asked you first, but it's because there's no way on earth I would choice the any other girl and the guys are…"

"Envious? Jealous? Hate you?" Sakura filled in the blank.

Hesitantly, he slowly nodded his head.

"Then how do you get study partners for your other classes?" Sakura inquired, tilting her head.

"Hiiragizawa. But it's only when I really really need it. There's no way I would ever study with him for every freakin' test," Xiao Lang uttered with a hint of pride and annoyance in his voice.

"Then why not ask Eriol for help in Chinese History? You don't seem to need my help too often. If anything, I need you to help me clarify a few things more than you need me," Sakura noticed, tapping her lips lightly.

Xiao Lang began to smirk. "Is that so? I guess if you don't want my help, then that's fine by me. But let me ask you this: how does tangent graph look like? And how do you find degrees of an angle when…"

Sakura gently shoved him, her face slightly pink. "OK! OK! I take back what I said! Happy?"

Xiao Lang chuckled, and Sakura blew a raspberry to retaliate.

"My dear Tomoyo, did you get that on tape?" a familiar, taunting voice spoke loudly.

Xiao Lang's head snapped over to see a Cheshire grin from Eriol and his partner in crime, Tomoyo, carrying a camcorder.

"Don't worry, Li. We won't blackmail this time like when we were little kids," Eriol grinned.

Sakura, who just realized what was going on, gasped. "No! Please don't! I don't want to upset Li!"

"He won't be upset as long as he _willingly_ comes with us to the orphanage to play with the kids today," Tomoyo stated innocently.

"But why do you want him to come with us?" the auburn hair young woman furrowed her brows in confusion.

Tomoyo grinned. "Just because. It'll bring back some old memories perhaps. Plus it's a nice sunny, breezy day today. It's only one time, Li. How about it?" Tomoyo waved her camcorder slightly but that was all it took for Xiao Lang to send a threatening glare, gulped, and nodded.

"If you, _Syaoran_, don't have anything better to do, I say we go right now," Eriol ordered but stressed on saying Xiao Lang's Japanese name.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Hiiragizawa, it's Li to you!"

"I'm sorry, but it slipped," Eriol replied with an apologetic face.

The chestnut hair young man looked down and grumbled, "It slipped…psfftt, it slipped, yeah right, especially since I've told him every day in the dorm."

"So how are we getting there? It's pretty far to walk," Xiao Lang said with a serious face.

"Eriol always drives us," Sakura replied cheerfully.

Xiao Lang felt himself grimacing and fearing Eriol's driving skills, but he forced a very stern smile.

"Don't worry, Li. Eriol's a very good driver," Tomoyo reassured, turning off her camcorder.

Xiao Lang blankly nodded his head. 'We'll see,' he thought, falling the three to Eriol's car.

Nothing could go wrong on a perfect day transitioning from summer to autumn. The dark green leaves were insouciantly turning to brown, red, orange, and yellow. The early color changing, crisp leaves were fluttering down to the ground when a strong breeze swam by. Despite that, in the mere seconds that they were halfway to the orphanage, entering the more middle residential area, Xiao Lang, Sakura, and Eriol felt a sudden magic presence.

The skies grew dark. Gray clouds formed fast and furious. Lightning began thundering as twisters started appearing.

Eriol stomped on the brakes and the car jerked and skidded. Everyone's facing flung forward and back thanks to the seat belt. Sakura and Eriol glanced at each other. They knew that this was not naturally. The one-day that Xiao Lang was in their gaze, what were the chances? They needed a distraction, an excuse.

Tomoyo, who was the observing the skies, noticed how the clouds were swirling towards a center and beneath the eye of the storm, there was a golden orb that seemed like it was commanding the storm.

"What's that right there?" She pointed to the golden orb and everyone peered over to the right side to see it except Sakura.

"I don't know. I think I'm going to need to get out for a better look," Eriol fibbed. "Don't you think you need to too, Sakura? Sakura…?"

There was a bang, and all six eyes followed from the back door to the sound of running.

"What is that foolish girl doing?" Xiao Lang shouted through the rumble.

Eriol opened the door to follow her and heard Tomoyo replying, "There's a little girl right there! Sakura's probably left to go help her."

Meanwhile, Sakura was within a couple feet from the girl when a strong wind tripped her, and Clow Mistress landed over the terrified girl, holding her.

"Everything will be OK. Which house do you live in? I'll make sure you'll arrive safely with your family," Sakura tried calming the terrified, crying girl.

The little girl, trying to pacify, pointed to a corner house, few houses away. As they both stood up, Sakura carried the girl in her arms, and Eriol came up behind them, shouting, "We need to use our magic, but there's an obvious problem." Eriol moved his head toward the car. "But I forgot to mention of another family that may possess magic, the Misaki Clan. They're a distant, last, weak, and next magic clan after the Li family. We cannot reveal to them that you are the Clow Mistress…yet, if they indeed can sense magic. That remains unknown. I know I should've explained more about this before you arrived, but I didn't think it was necessary."

Sakura, confused with their current situation and the new news glared at Eriol, who probably couldn't see it due to the heavy rain and his glasses. "Ok," Sakura shouted as they continued their way towards the little girl's house, "well, what do we do then? We're not supposed to know that Xiao Lang has magic himself."

"No worries. I can conceal my magic while using it to send that golden orb in another dimension. Just make sure she's," indicating to the girl, "alright."

Sakura nodded, but as Eriol was about to go on his own way. A twister quickly appeared above them. The young woman felt her feet lifting up.

"Eriol! CATCH!" She tossed the frightened and screaming girl at Eriol, who caught her and fell on to his butt.

Back in the car, the other two were watching the scene unfold. Without thinking, Xiao Lang jumped out of the car and took out his magical sword that he inherited from his father. He muttered an incantation, and the trees nearby the golden orb began shaking, distorting, as the branches grew longer. The branches rapidly wrapped itself around the orb or some tried piercing the orb. Alas, the branches wrapped itself on the orb, which affected the controlling of the twisters and lightning.

Sakura felt the twister weakening, her body pummeling slowly at first towards the ground due to gravity, but her body could not handle being thrown in the sky and then being tossed back down. She was cold and wet, but at the same time, she felt herself getting hot, lost a grip of concealing her magic for a few seconds until Eriol used some of his to hide hers, and lost consciousness.

Eriol looked over to the other person around who could detect magic, fearing if he sensed the pink aura, but from the looks of it, Sakura had gotten lucky with that part.

"SAKURA!" Xiao Lang shouted. Joyful memories from his childhood began flashing in his mind: the time he met Sakura, the New Year festival, her birthday parties, Valentine's Day, their promise. Frantic, scared for his life but not showing it, his composure remained calm as he muttered another incantation. He felt his feet being lifted and flying towards the young woman. 5…4…3…2…He caught Sakura in his wet arms in the nick of time.

"Daidouji, take care of her!" Xiao Lang shouted, placing Sakura cautiously and carefully into the backseat, which Tomoyo moved back to help her best friend.

Now, it was time to deal with the trapped golden orb. Xiao Lang angrily and with all his might first released the branches and immediately slashed the golden orb with his sword. The golden orb swelled up, emitting a brighter light before exploding. In the middle of the orb was a piece of paper with an incantation on it that burned itself into nothing but ash.

The dark clouds quickly vanished. The breeze appeased when the sun was shining down brightly, hastening to dry the streets.

"Tomoyo! Sakura…is she ok?" The wet chestnut hair young man landed back on the ground, a couple feet from the car, and retreated his sword into a necklace was huffing, but he had no time to catch his breath. "And Eriol, that little girl better be safe since Sakura risked her life for her."

"Um…Sakura's still unconscious and seems to be running a fever. Actually, all three of you should change, really," Tomoyo advised, as Xiao Lang took Sakura into his arms.

"You're an idiot, you know that, Sakura? Risked your life. I was so afraid that I'd lost you," he muttered, holding her tighter and tighter.

Tomoyo and Eriol looked at each other and then at the scene that was unfolding. The couple was silently arguing who should mention to Xiao Lang what he was saying and doing. After a few shoves and threatening looks from his girlfriend, the navy hair young man wiped his glasses and coughed.

"Hey Syaoran, are you feeling ok?" Eriol questioned.

"I'm not unconscious and I didn't almost die. I'm fine. Why?"

"You do realize what you just said, right?" Eriol continued.

"And what you just did and what you're doing now," Tomoyo added quietly.

Xiao Lang raised a brow. It took him a few seconds to absorb his surroundings, and he hesitantly continued to hold Sakura in his arms. He cussed under his breath. "Ask away."

"First off all, what was that, Syaoran? How were you able to do what you did?" Tomoyo asked. It was finally time for the truth to be revealed. They could finally talk about magic without sounding too suspicious.

Taking a deep breath, he gave a grave look and his voice turned cold. "What I am going to tell you, you cannot tell anyone. Anyone, you guys got that?"

The couple glanced at each other and nodded.

"I possess magical abilities like what you just saw. Magic existed hundreds, perhaps thousands of years ago. Now it is only limited in the Li family and our distantly relatives, the Misaki Clan. The Misaki Clan isn't as strong as we are, but they are currently trying to overthrow us out of our name so they can take control. The only way is…well…obtaining a deck of cards…our ancient ancestor Clow Reed's cards, but you guys shouldn't worry about that. Has nothing to do with you guys."

That was something Eriol already knew and had told Tomoyo and recently Sakura.

"And you do acknowledge the fact that you called us," Eriol added, pointing to Tomoyo, Sakura, and him, "by our first names? And we called you 'Syaoran' without you correcting us."

It took awhile for Xiao Lang to answer that, but he had to admit, it felt nice to finally see his childhood friends…no…his friends…his only friends. "I'm sorry I've been a jerk. Truce, Eriol, Tomoyo?"

"I don't know, _Li_…" Tomoyo began in a teasing manner.

"Maybe we just don't want to be your friend now, huh?" Eriol played along.

"Oh, but Eriol, maybe we should. I do have the old tapes from our childhood. It'll be nice to blackmail hi—I mean, have get together and talk about the past and laugh."

"Speaking of blackmailing, since it is the famous Xiao Lang Li, we can almost get anything we want now," Eriol smiled.

"Hey, hey, hey…That…doesn't…sound like…what friends would do…to each other," Xiao Lang stuttered nervously.

"Just kidding!" the couple shouted in unison. "Truce!"

"Last question: what are you feelings toward are lovely best friend, Sakura?" Tomoyo grinned from ear to ear.

"Uhh…" There was no one he could get out of this situation with Tomoyo's all-knowing gaze boring down on him. "I don't know at the moment. Maybe I do like her. Maybe I do love her. Maybe I buried my feelings for her because I was forced to, and today, it was found. I do care for her. She's…If she'll let me…if she hasn't forgotten me, maybe she'll give me a second chance like that, but I'm not ready yet. This is too much for one day."

"So Syaoran Li, answer me. Do you love Sakura Kinomoto?" Tomoyo urged on.

"You promise not to say anything?" Xiao Lang raised a brow in skepticism.

"We promise."

Xiao Lang thought about it for a couple minutes, talking himself through it step by step on both sides, but there was one side that would not leave him alone.

"I…"

**XXXXX**

"Hah, I told you the plan would work!" an Elder commented, clapping in triumph.

"Yes, and now we know for a fact, whoever possess the Clow Cards is still right here in Hong Kong," a wise Elder added.

"Xiao Lang is strong. He defeated our magic with his father's sword after capturing it with wood since lightning is weak against wood," another Elder added, impressed.

"Hmph. Next time, we need the man who has the Clow Cards to use them and save Hong Kong, not Xiao Lang."

"Indeed, next time, I suggest we somehow detain Xiao Lang's magic."

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **OKAY, rushed chapter? A little bit, IMO.

WARNING: I think I'm going to be rushing it, but IDK how to make it non-rushed because it's already a long story and I know all of you guys are dying for the couple to be together. And I would love to finish this story and I have the entire rest of the story outlined in my head and trust me, it's almost done, but I'm a bad estimator so I won't say how many more chapters.

Now, you readers tell me what you think of this chapter! REVIEW PLEASE! Thanks for all your supporting reviews in the last chapter!


	21. Revelation

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree 

Chapter XXI

--Revelation—

"I…I…maybe I do…I do love her." He leaned down and gave the defenseless young woman a kiss on her forehead.

A week had pass, but that scene kept repeating throughout the chestnut hair young man. It was true, he didn't. He just liked her that was all. He developed a small, teeny, tiny crush again if you want to call it that, but he did not love her. It was a crush, it'll go away like a bad bruise or a deep cut. He was not going to let this such a small matter affect him any way, and…and yet why in the last two hours could he not concentrate on his Chinese Literature homework?!

Xiao Lang slid a hand through his hair in frustration and threw his pen on his desk.

A walk. A nice, long, saunter was all he needed to clear his brain. Thank goodness Hii-no, Eriol wasn't around to see him like this. That mischievous roommate would be interrogating him as if he had done some immoral crime.

Just as Xiao Lang was going to leave his room for that long walk, his phone began vibrating in his pocket. He checked his phone to see that it was the very person that he wanted to get away from.

"Yes Sakura?"

"Hi Li, I mean, Syao-no, Xiao Lang?" Sakura stammered, unsure of what Xiao Lang meant the last time they had talked. The last time they had talked was with Eriol and Tomoyo around, calling Xiao Lang nonchalantly as Syaoran. Sakura, who was unconscious the last time, was surprised, and Xiao Lang kindly allowed for her to call him by his first name and vice versa.

"Syaoran is fine, Sakura. Is there something wrong? Do you need help on homework?" Xiao Lang questioned.

"No, no! Not this time. I was wondering if you're busy," she asked vaguely and somewhat distantly.

"No. Why?"

"OK, well, would you like to go to the orphanage today with Tomoyo and Eriol? Tomoyo says that you have to if you're free. She has that tape of last week that is ready to be sent to a news station," Sakura said apologetically.

Deep down, he felt a little pang in his heart but shook that off but not because of the blackmail as he gulped. "Guess I don't have much of a choice now, but if I did, I would have gladly complied with my own will. Where do you want to meet?"

"Parking lot where Eriol usually parks his car in ten minutes?" Sakura replied.

"Alright. See ya then."

"OK, oh, and Syaoran?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for going," the young woman answered shyly and genuinely and quickly hung up.

Xiao Lang stared at his phone for a couple seconds in a daze and smirked. 'Getting happy for the simplest thing,' he thought, as he opened the door to leave.

The day was similar to the previous week. The sun was smiling upon the earth as the friendly wind sought to fly in the air. More of the leaves had changed colors, but the full autumn aura wasn't here yet. In a few minutes, he arrived at Eriol's car to see that the other three were already there waiting patiently for him.

"Hi Syaoran!" Sakura chirped.

"Hey, I'm glad you could come," Tomoyo grinned.

"Well, what are we waiting for then? Let's go," Eriol suggested as the four entered the car.

XXXXX 

"When is Sakura coming?" a very impatient dark hair little boy demanded, folding his arms and stomping.

"Calm down, Kenshin. I don't know for sure. I just know that Sakura, Tomoyo, and Eriol called saying they were going to come visit and bring another friend along," the caretaker of the orphanage squatted down to Kenshin and explained.

"A friend?" a little brunette girl echoed.

"That means that we get to have even more fun, right?" an enthusiastic energetic boy shouted.

The rest of the handful of orphans (total of eight) were animatedly chattering and could hardly wait for them to make their day.

"So when are they coming now?" Kenshin asked once more, his irritated tone rose.

"Kenshin, are you making trouble again?" an older voice rang.

Happily, the little boy turned around and his blue eyes meet a warm familiar smiling face. "Sakura!"

The other children were about to enter the same giddy mood until the famous Xiao Lang appeared. They gasped in unison, even the caretaker, a widow, Mrs. Ling.

"Tomoyo, you didn't tell me that you're friends with Xiao Lang Li!"

Tomoyo smiled and shrugged. "He's a person like everyone else. It doesn't really matter, does it?"

Remembering her manners, she bowed down and the children followed, all except one.

"I don't see why we have to bow down to some jerk-face like him! I don't care if you're the Xiao Lang Li. You were mean to Sakura!" He blew a raspberry.

Sakura patiently squatted down to her young friend. "What did I tell you before? He's a good guy, Kenshin."

"Fine," he pouted.

After contemplating for a few minutes while the scene unraveled, a brilliant idea came to his mind.

"Hey Kenshin, you have a pretty nice punch for someone so young. If you want, I can teach you some martial arts move to _protect, not harm_, people you care about," Xiao Lang offered so that a truce could be made between them.

The words 'martial arts' was a nice attention grabber for not only Kenshin but the other little boys too.

"Mr. Li! Mr. Li! Teach me! I want to learn martial arts too!" the energetic boy named Ryou exclaimed.

"Oh, oh! And me!" another boy shouted.

"Is it OK, Mrs. Ling, if I just teach them simple defensive moves?" Xiao Lang turned to the caretaker.

"That's fine. This is a wonderful opportunity for them. Thank you so much!" She bowed again.

"Oh, and if anything bad occurs from this, let me know and I'll talk to them another time," Xiao Lang added in reassurance. Then he turned his attention to Eriol and smirked. "Come on, Eriol. It seems like you need some lessons too."

"Wah? But, but the girls promised me that they'll have a tea party just for me!" he whined.

"Did you hear yourself?" Xiao Lang inquired. "Man up!"

"Go Eriol. I don't want a girly man. I'll tape the tea party for you so you can watch it later as if you were there," Tomoyo grinned.

'Yeah, well, I was the powerful magician Clow Reed. Don't I get points for that,' Eriol thought as he dragged himself outside with Xiao Lang and the little boys.

Meanwhile, the girls had they tea party in the living room. The girls were dressed up in gorgeous dresses that Tomoyo had personally designed and made. Then the two young women did all of the girls' hair to make them feel even more like fine ladies meeting up for tea to talk about the latest gossip.

Tomoyo and Sakura, who both were experts in the art of lady-like manners, sat properly. Even when drinking their tea, the pinky was always sticking out, and the girls imitated them.

"Now Mae, tell me all about this crush of yours that I've been hearing about from Rae," Tomoyo asked in a proper manner, taking a sip from the empty pink plastic teacup.

"Sis, you told her?!" Mae and Rae were orphan twins. They looked identical as twins should be, but the way to tell them apart was through their hairstyle. Mae had long raven hair flowing down her back whereas Rae had short raven hair tied into pigtails.

"It slipped when Tomoyo was doing my hair," Rae said apologetically.

Mae looked really reluctant to respond the question. There were a total of five girls and three boys at the orphanage so gossip wasn't that hard to spread.

"Is it…Kenshin?" Tomoyo looked at Sakura with a teasing face, as a smile plastered on Sakura's face.

Mae shook her head.

"Ryou?" the brunette girl named Hana guessed.

Mae neither shook her head nor nodded. Instead, she blushed bright pink, revealing the answer. "Please, please don't tell anyone, especially him," she muttered, refusing to look up from the table.

A fair skin dark hair girl sitting across from Mae crossed her arms (which was very unladylike) and glared at her. "What do you see in him?"

That took everyone at the table by surprise.

Mae shyly raised her head and gazed past the blonde girl. "Yuan, I like him because he's very kind to me, and he always helped me, and he worries about me."

The banal answer ticked off Yuan. "I won't let you have him! No! He's mine. I was here first. I met him first. He's mine!"

Mae was a kind girl. She didn't mean to start anything like that. She knew that Yuan had liked him, and that's why she didn't want anyone to know. Ingeniously, to calm the girl, she lied, "I think I like him as a brother though. Don't worry Yuan."

Brother. The magic word did it, and the scene pacified and became quiet until Rae spoke up. "I don't see the point in liking boys. They're so stupid and mean like Kenshin."

"But Eriol isn't stupid and mean and I like him," Tomoyo replied innocently. She knew that Rae had a teeny tiny crush on her boyfriend but it was innocent.

Rae immediately responded, "Well…ok, he's one of the few exceptions."

"What about Sy-I mean Xiao Lang?" Sakura added.

The one girl who had not spoken yet removed her glasses and wiped them as she whispered, "He seems nice now, but on TV, he looks scary."

The other girls nodded along.

"But that's to keep all of his crazy stalker fans away," Tomoyo lied to protect his image.

"He's a really good person once you get to know him," Sakura added, taking a sip of 'tea'.

"I hope you're talking about me," a gruff voice commented.

Sakura felt herself get warmer.

"Ewww, you guys smell," Rae stated, scrunching her nose. The boys energetically started showing off their new moves in front of the girls. Unfortunately, space was limited.

"Hey! You hit me!"

"Well, watch where you're going!"

Amber eyes glared at his pupils as he coughed loudly. Kenshin, Ryou, and Jeng immediately stopped and lowered their heads, remembering their solemn oath to not fight or hurt anyone in the household.

"Why don't you guys go take a shower?" Eriol suggested, pushing the boys upstairs.

"Aww, is that it?" Kenshin moped.

"For today," Xiao Lang smirked.

"So you're gonna come back, right?" Jeng questioned hopefully.

"Please! You're more fun than Eriol," Ryou whispered, trying to be discreet.

"Does that mean you guys are going to leave now too?" Mae inquired.

"I guess so," Tomoyo responded.

"It is getting late," Sakura chimed in.

But before the four left, Sakura and Tomoyo help the girls clean up the tea party, placing the chairs back where they belonged and the cups and coasters in the box. Once they finished, the four bid another 'bye' before exiting the house.

On the way back to campus, Sakura turned to Xiao Lang and grinned. "Did you have fun?"

"Yeah. That Kenshin, he can punch once you teach him." He rubbed an area on his stomach. "I think he hits harder than you, Eriol."

"Hah…hah…very fun—" Suddenly, the car swerved to the right while screeching.

The momentum caused Sakura to be pushed towards Xiao Lang, who was using the door as a brace.

"You know, if this was for that comment, it was very unnecessary," Xiao Lang hissed, wrapping his arm around the shaking young woman next to him.

Eriol, who was also in the process of pacifying his own loved one, refuted, "Well, it was either this or we'd all be dead by now." He pointed outside towards a large transparent jello-like blob moving around, sucking people and objects into its 'stomach'. With each gulp, the thing augmented.

Eriol and Sakura looked at each other and then at Xiao Lang.

"Are you going to go and stop it like you do last time?" Eriol inquired as the four of them got out of the car and ran for safety.

"Who else can stop it?" Xiao Lang took out his necklace and said the incantation for the necklace to transform into his heirloom sword. Then he took out a wind scroll and muttered the incantation except nothing happened.

"What the…" The frustrated young man ran a hand through his chestnut hair, and then pulled out a thunder scroll, but the result was the same.

'We don't have much time,' Sakura worried, constantly glancing at Eriol who met her eyes.

"Look, we don't have much time, but I think Sakura and I can handle it if you let us," the navy hair man uttered quickly.

Xiao Lang raised a brow in skepticism, but he didn't want any more civilians turning into grub. "Fine."

"But you must not get angry at us, ok?" Eriol added, hastening their conversation.

"Ok, Ok. I promise."

"Tomoyo, try to calm him down if anything happens," her boyfriend demanded taciturnly as Sakura and Eriol ran towards the thing.

As soon as Sakura and Eriol were out of site, Xiao Lang confronted Tomoyo. There was something going on that Eriol was obviously not comfortable about and he was going to find out. "Why did Eriol make me promise not to get mad?"

Tomoyo couldn't stand the penetrating gaze from her friend so she stared at her feet and whispered, "You love Sakura. You love her so please, please don't be angry. We all knew….we all knew…I'm sorry. Don't hate us, especially Sakura."

Irascibly, Xiao Lang's patient could not hold up. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! Why, why in the world would I hate you guys? I'm getting ticked off from this secrecy between the three of you. Tell me, Tomoyo, what I don't know."

The poignant raven hair young woman was about to open her mouth but then closed it. A magic circle shone. A bright pink aura materialized and then a dark blue one, Xiao Lang could feel it. The pink aura emitted powerful magic. The owner was a lot stronger than what he had imagined before. The blue aura was strong, but nothing compared to the pink one.

The pink aura! That was who the Elders and he assumed the new, paltry owner of the Clow Cards was. Unconsciously, he ran toward the scene of the battle. No…there was no way…

A shadow of what appeared to be a young man holding a long staff with a large sphere on top. "Try using sword to chop open while I'm holding it down!"

'That voice could only be Eriol…"

"I'm on it… Sword!" a familiar voice yelled. A figure with long auburn hair stood potently poised, clutching the sword firmly a couple of yards away from him. The figure boldly ran toward the blob and jumped as high as she could and slashed the thing in half, making sure to not slice someone.

The jello-like creature let out a horrible clamor. Hastily, the 'body' pieces tried to accumulate back to its original form to ghastly swallow the very two that had slowed it down from its rampage.

"Thunder!" A jolt of lightning landed on the pieces of the 'body', resulting in a dead halt. Mere seconds later, the pieces degenerated. The innocent civilians were mostly all right but unconscious. Not wanting anyone to remember this episode, Eriol quickly wiped their memories.

During the thunder attack, Xiao Lang got a good long look at the two heroes, especially the owner of the pink aura.

"Sakura…no…" he uttered faintly, but Sakura heard her name escape his lips. She looked up to see his figure sprinting farther away until his back was a dot and then gone.

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **Mehh, trying not to rush it but failing. The beginning of the chapter sucked but it got better as it progress, right? (I hope).

OH and sorry for the slightly long time to update. I've been busy with SAT prep and driver's ed. HATE SAT. HATE IT!

SOOO, comments anyone? I appreciate them and thank those who do review.


	22. Resolution

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter XXII

--Resolution—

"Well, well… look what we have here."

The Elders were surrounding a transparent sphere. In the middle of the sphere revealed the owner of the pink aura that they had for some time. They all had watched the entire fight except they did not know that Xiao Lang was in love with this young woman.

"Who knew that a silly little girl was capable to handle the Clow Cards?" One spoke up.

"Not only that, but there seems to be another strong magician. His aura seems familiar," another Elder commented.

"That's the same aura as that Fujitaka Kinomoto from Japan. This magician must be the other half of Clow's reincarnation," an Elder declared.

"Now, all we need to do is to locate Xiao Lang to tell him of this joyous news. Soon, the Li family will be the strongest clan in the world."

**XXXXX**

'She knew. She knew this all along. They all did!' he shouted in his mind. This was the Elders' order—to find the Clow Cards and destroy the one who possesses them. He couldn't take them away from Sakura…he just couldn't. And yet, what would the Elders say? What about his title? What about the Li Clan? It's not like the Misaki Clan could get a hold of the cards either. They were even weaker than the Li Clan.

Then Tomoyo's voice echoed in his mind. "Don't hate us…especially Sakura."

He couldn't hate them. They were his friends, his only friends, and his true friends. He just needed time.

Suddenly, without a moment to breathe, Xiao Lang's phone began ringing and vibrating. Predicting it was going to be one of his three friends, he was not going to answer, but instincts told him to check who was calling. To his dismay, the number came from the Li mansion, and that could only mean one thing—the Elders.

It had just occurred to him that the pink and blue aura were distinguish and strong during the battle. Of course the Elders felt the strong magical presence.

The loath young man slowly answered his phone, dreading the call.

"Hello?"

"I'm glad you answered your phone. You'll never guess what we just found," the head Elder simply stated.

"And…erm…what is that?"

"The Clow Cards. We had to speed things up a bit and find them before the Misaki Clan. You progress was too torpid so we decided to help you on your search. Good thing too. Bafflingly, the thief of the Clow Cards is a silly little girl. I'm sure you'll have no problem rightfully acquiring those cards back. Her name is Sakura Kinomoto. We want those cards back tonight around midnight, Xiao Lang. Do not disappoint us."

The Elder hung up before Xiao Lang had a chance to open his mouth and utter a word. He didn't have a chance to agree or disincline, and now, the only option that was available to him was to do as the Elders demanded.

Tonight. He had to obtain the cards tonight. But…but what if he didn't? What would the Elders do? There were a few hours left until his compulsory appointment.

A nap. This was strange. His body yearned for a nap. He hadn't had a nap in ages, but now, it was time for a nice little catnap.

**XXXXX**

_Hundreds of linear cherry blossom trees lined on both sides of a narrow, sparking blue river. A very young Xiao Lang secretly isolated himself in this area of the garden to practice his martial arts. He preferred the company of the flowing river, breezing wind, and chirping birds to his parents' friends who were over, visiting._

_Out of thin air, he heard an unforgettable, quaint giggle of a very young girl. He was intrigued by this enticing voice. Suddenly, just as he arrived at the scene, he witnessed the girl struggling to catch a white butterfly near the river and to trip and fall into the river._

"_MOMMYY—" The terrified little girl could not shout anymore because the water was rising over her head._

_Splash! Xiao Lang heroic jumped in to save the little girl just as her mother arrived to the scene._

"_My little cherry blossom!" a long dark hair woman cried worriedly, holding her precious daughter in her arms tightly and calmly making sure that she was ok._

_Finally, Xiao Lang managed to open his mouth and speak. "I didn't do anything."_

_The woman plastered a sincere smile. "You saved her."_

_Xiao Lang stared into the orbs of her emerald eyes, sensing that she was kind._

"_But I didn't push her in or anything."_

"_I didn't say you did. You must be Yelan's son, Xiao Lang or in Japanese, Syaoran, correct?"_

_He nodded._

"_Well, thank you for saving her. I'm sure your parents will be proud once I tell them of your good deed today," she continued grinning._

_There was a slight silence until Xiao Lang finally heeded to the unconscious young girl in the woman's arms. If she wasn't wearing a pink outfit, he might assume that it was a boy because of her short auburn hair. Even though she was out of it, the little girl was kind of pretty._

_The woman noticed Xiao Lang's stare and her grin widen. "You know, my daughter's name means cherry blossom," she began as Xiao Lang looked back up to the woman. "It's funny how you would first meet her under the cherry blossoms tree. Do you think you can do me a favor?"_

_The woman surprised the boy. How could he, a little kid, do an adult that he had never met before, a favor? "What?"_

"_I'm sure you two will be good friends. Promise me that you'll continue to watch after her and protect her no matter what, okay?"_

_He felt a warm feeling surge in his body. It was a strange feeling, but he nodded to comply._

"_Please don't forget…Xiao Lang."_

Amber eyes immediately opened and stared at the ceiling above. 'What in the world was that?'

That was a dream, wasn't it? Then why…why did it feel so familiar? And that woman; that woman was the same woman in Sakura's house back when he lived in Tomeoda. Then logically…if that was the same woman, then…it wasn't a dream. That had really happened in the past. Now was a great time to remember his promise.

Sighing, Xiao Lang looked around in his dorm and then the clock. It was now a little under ten. Two hours left until the deadline.

It was not like he had much of a choice left. The only possible task to do in his situation first was to confront Sakura. Maybe they could work something out? Heh, who was he kidding, but he didn't know until he tried.

As Xiao Lang opened the door of his dorm to leave, to his disbelief, he found Sakura, Eriol, and Tomoyo nervously sitting down or pacing back and forth.

"Syaoran! I'm glad you're awake. You're not upset are you?" Eriol quickly pounced. Xiao Lang's three friends surrounded him so that there was no way he could escape even if he wanted too.

"No. No. I can't be upset. You guys are my friends. Besides, I kept my magical abilities a secret until it was revealed so I guess it's fair."

"So you're not mad at me either, Syaoran?" Sakura asked timidly, looking at the ground. She could feel tears forming and ready to burst if she lost the love of her life again.

Xiao Lang gently placed a finger on her chin and lifted her head so their eyes would meet and chastely kissed her cheek. "Nope."

Sakura's lucent emerald eyes gazed at the young man in front of her; her cheeks slightly pink. "Thank you! Thank you for not being upset. If there's anything I can do to repay you back, just name it."

Xiao Lang sighed and took a deep breath. "The two attacks, they were orchestrated by the Elders to find out who stole the Clow Cards, and well…the Elders expect me to steal the Clow Cards from you and return to the Li mansion with them tonight, but you don't have them, now do you?"

Sakura shook her auburn head. "There're Sakura Cards now."

The four of them all stood in silent, pondering about the situation until Xiao Lang glanced at his watch.

"Don't worry, Sakura. I won't let anyone hurt you, especially the Elders. I'll go to my rendezvous now and convince the Elders to let this matter go even if I will be punished," the leader of the Li Clan uttered firmly without any hesitation.

Without thinking, Sakura grabbed Xiao Lang's hand and looked directly in his amber eyes. "Let me go with you, please."

His averse eyes revealed more than what he could've said if he had a chance to speak.

"I'm not some silly, weak girl, Syaoran. I can't be if I'm the Clow Mistress. I am the most powerful magician in the world, Syaoran. Nothing the Elders can do, I can't beat. I have more tricks up my sleeves than you would know. Now, please let me go with you."

He didn't want to admit it, but a little bit of weight lifted from his shoulders. It felt good. He didn't want to face the Elders alone and now, for sure, he wasn't. He squeezed the young woman's hand and then dragged her along.

"You two both better be back safe and sound!" Tomoyo shouted.

"Don't worry, Tomoyo. We will!" Sakura answered.

The two were going to head to Xiao Lang's mansion by his car, but luckily, there was still some time before the arranged time. He wasn't thinking clearly, but seating next to Sakura, he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her whether the Elders liked it or not. (And hopefully so did the girl of his dream)

He glanced at content Sakura to find her staring at the promise ring he had given to her years ago. He had to know now. He had to know if she still loved him.

Once Xiao Lang entered past the black gates to enter the Li property, he parked it near the front entrance, however, instead of entering the house, Xiao Lang motioned Sakura to follow him to the depths of the Li garden.

"Why are we here?" she asked curiously, tilting her head.

Xiao Lang leaned under a cherry blossom tree, gazing at the familiar river in front. "Do you remember this place?"

"No, of course not! I've never been to Hong Kong before, much less your garden!" Sakura replied, standing within a foot from Xiao Lang. She took that moment to absorb her surroundings. The rectilinear cherry blossom trees on both side of the river awed her, especially in the moonlight. "It's beautiful though."

Xiao Lang chuckled. "Allow me to tell you of a little story then."

Sakura, still muddled, nodded.

"One day, a little cute toddler was trying to catch a white butterfly right here. Unfortunately, just as she almost caught the little insect, it flew away, and she fell into the river. I heard her screaming. Naturally, I dove in and saved her life just as her beautiful mother was at the scene. I made a promise with her mother that I would always protect her daughter no matter what, and I intend on keeping my promise."

His companion felt her heart ache as she saw that look on Xiao Lang's face. It was so serene and peaceful. 'I bet he's probably in love with the girl too. Maybe our young love was nothing after all…meant nothing.'

"Do you know what her name is?" Xiao Lang inquired.

"…No…" she replied slowly, holding her necklace tighter.

"Neither did I, but I know that it means cherry blossom," he began, slowly reaching towards the necklace and clamping his hands over hers. "And that her mother had the most beautiful emerald eyes like she had."

Sakura couldn't breathe. Was he talking about her? Why was he acting so strange? But she no words could escape past her lips.

Gently, Xiao Lang whispered in her ear, "Do you remember our promise?"

"Every 14th of the month, we'd meet under the cherry blossom tree at the orphanage."

"And do you know what day this is?" Xiao Lang inquired.

Sakura blushed. His breath was tickling her ears, but it was so warm and managed to whisper, "No."

"I know it's not near the orphanage in Japan, but today's the 14th of the month. Now, I have another question. Do you still love me?"

The poor young woman had never been in this position before. She didn't know how to react and blurted out the first thing in her mind. "I'll answer you if you answer if you love me first!"

Xiao Lang dove in and kissed Sakura on the lips. It was slow and soft. It took awhile for Sakura to register her current position, but she kissed him back until they broke away from each other.

"Does that answer your question?" he teased.

"Hoee," she whispered.

"Now, let's go settle some business with the Elders." Xiao Lang's romantic disposition immediately transformed to a more serious, stern one—one that scared Sakura a little.

"I'm right behind you."

**XXXXX**

"My, my. Looks like Xiao Lang's bringing the Card Thief herself here," the eldest Elder announced.

Another Elder walked up to the sphere and looked into it. "It looks like she's willing to be here."

"You're right. That is strange. I wonder what Xiao Lang is thinking, and what that girl is thinking," the eldest Elder remarked. "Let's go meet them. Call the others."

Within mere minutes, all the Elders, including Xiao Lang's uncle, were present in the foyer, waiting patiently for Xiao Lang's arrival.

Soon, the overcast shadow of two figures could be seen from the inside.

"Hello there, Xiao Lang. We're all surprised that you brought the Card Thief with you," Xiao Lang's uncle hissed.

The young clan leader did not flinch as he stood unwavering in front of Sakura; sending contempt glares at the people in front of him.

"So Xiao Lang, do you have the Clow Cards?" the eldest Elder queried promptly.

The young man chuckled and smirked. "I'm sorry but there are no such thing as Clow Cards anymore. What are you going to do about it?"

"Impossible! We all saw with our own eyes that…that thief owned them. She even used them, for example, the Sword Card!" an Elder declared.

Sakura slightly revealed some of her body and all of her head to the Elders and Xiao Lang's uncle. Her mischievous gleam in her eyes sparkled amusingly. "You're wrong. I've transformed the Clow Cards with my own magic that surpasses Clow Reed into Sakura Cards." She pulled a random Sakura Card out and held it in the air for them to see.

They all gasped. "This…this has to be some kind of joke," one whispered.

"No, look at that magic seal. It's totally different from Clow Reed's," another one added.

"And the card! The card is pink," an Elder uttered, shaking.

"The Sakura Cards are worthless in our hands if we can't use them," the eldest Elder replied calmly and wisely.

Luckily for Xiao Lang, he heard that part and continued smirking. "So all this time you sent me on a wild goose chase since there were no Clow Cards. What do you want me to do now? I can't transform the Sakura Cards back to Clow Cards unless my magic surpasses hers, but I don't."

The eldest Elder contemplated on the quandary, gazing from Xiao Lang to Sakura and back to Xiao Lang. "I want you to marry the thief."

"I have a name that's not thief! And I'm not a thief because Cerberus selected me to wield the Clow Cards. I even passed the Yue's test. Call me Sakura or Kinomoto, I don't care, but stop calling me thief!" the young woman shouted.

"You're right…Sakura," the eldest Elder stated. "Xiao Lang, I want you to marry…Sakura so that the Cl—Sakura Cards are safely with us so we can still be known as the most powerful magician clan."

"No," Xiao Lang replied simply. "I'm tired of _obeying_ your orders. If I'm the leader of this clan, I should be the one that _gives_ order instead of obeying them. I'm tired of being used like a toy. I don't really care about the Li Clan or it's reign unlike you _thieves _who have probably stolen hundreds of thousands from me. Don't think I don't know about my inheritance money."

"What…what are you talking about?" Xiao Lang's uncle stammered nervously.

Xiao Lang's smirk faded to be replaced by a hatred glare. "Don't lie, Uncle. You just wanted to adopt me for my money. I'm not stupid. I'm sure the Elders were in on this too. You guys are just lucky that I haven't called the police and sued, and I won't. I won't if you guys do me one thing—leave me alone. I'm through with the Clan stuff."

Xiao Lang's uncle did not phase and quickly recomposed himself. "Xiao Lang, if you dare leave this clan and pass it to the Misaki Clan, I won't let you." He let out a malicious laugh before continuing. "I will kill you, just like your parents and take over this clan. I thought that I could've spared your life back then and adopt you as if you were my son, but I suppose I was wrong."

The chestnut hair man felt the tips of his hair stand up as Sakura gasped. His red blood boiling as his uncle's voice echoed in his ears. He clenched his fists and then felt Sakura's hand gently placed on his left arm.

"I will avenge them!" Xiao Lang hastily raged forward and drew his sword. Within a blink of an eye, he had his most treasured possession—his father's sword—at the throat of his mercenary uncle.

His uncle continued laughing madly. "Go, go and kill me. Or are you too weak just like your old man? He never had the guts to kill unless it was necessary to protect his family."

Sakura's eyes widen as tears began to form. "Syaoran, Syaoran! Don't. He's taunting you. Your father wouldn't want you to avenge his death. He wouldn't want you to be a murderer like _him_," she pointed her finger at Xiao Lang's uncle.

The confused young man tightened his grasp on his uncle and flung him toward the stairs. Xiao Lang redrew his sword and walked back at Sakura. "You're right. Let's leave now before I do something I really regret."

"But…but…but what about honoring your ancestors!?" an Elder blurted.

"I'm sure they will understand—the Li family name has been corrupted by you guys. As of today, we are not family. You can keep the title of the Li Clan, but don't associate it with me anymore." Before any of the Elders could say a word, Xiao Lang sent a threatening glare at them.

"Oh and by the way, I will obey one of your request. I will marry Sakura, but not because of what you think."

Sakura felt herself blush as they walked back towards the car.

"Syaoran…?"

"Yes?"

"Did you really mean what you said?" Sakura whispered shyly.

The tension rose from Xiao Lang's expression, as he flustered a bit. "Well…I mean, I hope one of these days we will…only if you want to."

Sakura walked closer towards Xiao Lang and replied, "I want to because I love you."

Xiao Lang leaned in, and they shared another kiss.

"I love you too, my cherry blossom."

**XXXXX**

**Author's Note: **WOOT! I'm done! Ahem…rushed, I know. But I finished the story so that you lovely readers could somewhat enjoy this and resolution.

Once more, this will be my last long story here. I'll hopefully visit with some one-shots here and there so be on the watch if you're interested. I have another week before school starts, so if inspiration hits, I'll post something a sweet one-shot for SS.

REVIEW PLEASE! I'd like to see what you guys think of this final chapter! AND THANKS FOR ALL OF YOU WHO STUCK THROUGH!


	23. Epilogue

Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter XXIII

--Epilogue—

"Mommy! Mommy! When is Yurina coming?" an adorable young girl with chestnut hair and emerald eyes just like those of her mother's asked. She seemed no more than seven years old.

Sakura laughed, "Soon, Nadeshiko. Soon Aunt Tomoyo, Uncle Eriol, and your cousins Hikaru and Yurina will arrive." She had matured to a fine woman, but her looks did not seem to age one bit. Sakura cradled her third child, an infant girl, in her arms. She was sure that her baby Momoe would grow up to be just like her sister except with amber eyes.

Nadeshiko pouted and crossed her arms. "What's the rush?" Sakura inquired, comfortably leaning against a sturdy blooming cherry blossom tree.

Nadeshiko plastered a goofy grin, facing her mother. "Yurina promised to tell me a secret. We _are_ best friends." She clumsily dangled her friendship bracelet that Yurina had made especially for her.

"I'm sure that you won't have to wait for very long," Sakura grinned.

As if on cue, there was some rustling and voices. In a few seconds, a man who had a boy on his shoulders arrived with a woman, another man, and their two children.

The man with the boy on his shoulders had chestnut hair and fierce but caring amber eyes. The boy on his shoulder was the oldest his siblings and looked like a replica of the man except he had inherited his mother's auburn hair.

The woman who had arrived cheerfully greeted Sakura and her nieces before placing the picnic basket down and taking a seat next to Sakura. Just like Sakura, Tomoyo had matured to a fine woman and kept her beauty. Her husband, Eriol, remained the same—he had already been mature and his glasses seem to enhance it, but unlike before, his eyes gleamed proudly at his wife and his two children.

"Yurina! You're finally here!" Nadeshiko ran toward her friend who had navy blue hair and sparkling amethyst eyes.

"Sorry that you had to wait for so long. Hikaru couldn't find his sword," she uttered sincerely, pointing to her five year old brother who now was gawking at Nadeshiko's brother, Hiromi, with total admiration.

"It's ok. Now…what was that secret you were going to tell me?" Nadeshiko asked curiously, dragging the two of them farther away from the group but visible to their parents' eyes.

Sakura gazed at her daughter and niece fondly. Twelve years passed since that day—the day where Syaoran bravely broke away from the clan…no…the Elders. The Li Clan remained under Syaoran's leadership every since a private investigation ordered by the Chinese government on the Elders and his uncle once the news of Syaoran's leave was announced to the world. Even though it took a year to two, the thorough investigation was worth it. The private investigators found all the proof to condemn the Elders and Syaoran's uncle for life under murder and theft. The missing money from Syaoran's account was restored.

Finally, when Syaoran graduated from the university, he proposed to Sakura, and she would never forget that day.

"_Syaoran, where are we going?" Sakura groaned. Usually she loved the rain, but when it was raining cats and dogs with booming thunder, she was going to have to draw the line. It also didn't help that she was having a bad day—fired from her part time job and forgetting that a major paper was due._

"_You'll see," he grinned. Sakura notice a hint of sparkle in her boyfriend's eyes even though his hair was basically covering them._

"_If I get a cold from this and miss class, you're in trouble Syaoran Li!" the young woman glared as she continued to follow her boyfriend, griping his hand._

_Syaoran chuckled. "I promise you won't. After we do this, I promise we'll get you into a nice warm bubble bath."_

"_Will you cook me dinner?" Sakura added to the deal, grinning and holding her umbrella tighter._

_Syaoran smirked. "Yes, yes. Whatever you want but after we do what I plan on doing." Finally, after a few more steps, Syaoran halted under a tree._

_Sakura blinked a few times and move her wet hair from her face before registering where they were. "And why are we under this cherry blossom tree?" she asked annoyed._

"_Before I answer that, you have to answer my question first. What's today?"_

_She closed her eyes and imagined her calendar for work. "The fourteenth of…OMG, it's Valentine's Day! I'm made you some chocolate yesterday! It's in the fridge. I didn't totally forget!" She clasped one hand over her mouth and her eyes widen as she tried to avoid Syaoran's gaze._

_To her surprise, she heard a chuckle from her boyfriend. "You had a rough day. Besides, I would have been surprised if you had," he teased. "But that's not why I bought you out here in the rain. Do you remember the day when we first went out?"_

"_February 14," she whispered to herself._

_Syaoran nodded and continued, "We've been through so much together, Sakura. Everything I've done, I am now, is all because of you. I said that I was going to marry you, right? But I don't think that was the right way to propose." Then Syaoran knelt on one knee, ignoring the fact that his pants would get muddy, and took something out of his pocket. It was a small red velvet box. He opened the top to reveal a stunning diamond ring with two tiny emeralds on both side of it. "Sakura, let not only February 14 mark the day that we officially went out, but also the day where we promise our perpetual love for each other. Will you marry me?"_

_Sakura smiled and kissed him. "Yes! Of course I'll marry you."_

Sakura had on a content countenance. For dinner, Syaoran already had a homemade dinner prepared in the candlelight. And that was the day she had been proposed. It was only exactly a year later that they married.

"Hello! Earth to Sakura," Syaoran uttered in her ear.

She turned to face her uxorious husband with the same content countenance.

"Why are you so happy about? We see Tomoyo and Eriol almost every day." He nestled next to his caring wife and gently took Momoe from her.

"I was just thinking about the day you proposed to me," she grinned, leaning against Syaoran.

"Oh? And what about our marriage day?"

"It was perfect."

Meanwhile, Tomoyo was busy setting the food while Eriol kept his keen eyes on the kids.

"Tomoyo, dear? What do you think Yurina is telling Nadeshiko?" Eriol glanced over to his wife.

"I don't know. Maybe it's some boy that she likes," Tomoyo teased as Eriol tensed up. "Oh no! She is too young! She's not going to day anyone until she's eighteen, you hear me, Tomoyo?"

Tomoyo giggled at her husband's love for his daughter. "Hey! We liked each other before I was nine AND we dated when I was nine."

"Well…that's different," Eriol stated smugly with a grin. "Anyway, I'm starving."

"Perfect because I just finished." Tomoyo informed of the others as they all headed toward the picnic blanket and grabbed some food.

Thus ends a story filled with joyful promises…

"Syaoran?" Sakura grabbed his attention.

"Hmm?"

"Did I forget to mention that your sisters and their families are coming over tomorrow? They're spending the entire week here to visit," Sakura informed, hiding behind her plate.

Syaoran's eyes widen as he choked on his lemonade. "NOO! Not again! Let's call them and tell them that we're going away tomorrow…no, tonight, and we won't be back until…never!"

Sakura laughed. "Sorry sweetie, but I promised them they could."

"Or we can move right now and not tell them where," Syaoran suggested pleadingly.

Everyone laughed as Sakura glared at her husband.

OK…so maybe not joyful promises, but promises that brought them all here today.

XXXXX 

**Author's Note: **So here's the epilogue to satisfy my skeptical readers about my previous chapter ending. Sorry the last bit was 'off' but I wanted to try something different and 'fun'. And I know it's short, but I had no clue what else to do/write about. So I hope you guys enjoyed it!


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